


In Another World

by DoctorMerlinReid



Series: In the Life (When Running Blind) [2]
Category: Marvel, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Blind!Wally, Dimension Travel, F/M, Loki is Kind of Good?, Matt Murdock Makes a Great Father, SHIELD is Oblivious, So Are the Avengers, Wally is a Bat, so does foggy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-21 23:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 139,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8264566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorMerlinReid/pseuds/DoctorMerlinReid
Summary: Wally was transported into another dimension after being 'killed' by the MFD. He wakes up in the middle of an alien invasion and meets the Avengers for the first time. What is a blind speedster going to do in another dimension and how is he going to get home? Sequel to 'In the Dark' Blind!Wally, Bat!Wally





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I own neither DC nor Marvel. Please read the first one in this series before this one otherwise it might be a little confusing.

WWWWWW

Wally groaned and sat up. He was majorly disoriented for a second. Everything ached and it was like his senses had increased tenfold. Wally had to stop himself from recoiling when he smelt things that were obviously way out of his usual smelling range and he could taste things way better too. And everything was so loud and his normally incredibly soft suit felt like sandpaper against his skin. He was not prepared for all of that. What was going on? He started to stand, talking to himself quietly as he did so, "I'm alive, so that's good. It doesn't smell like snow and it doesn't feel nearly as cold, so I'm probably not in Antarctica anymore, soooo… I don't actually know if that's good or bad." He tilted his head around, listening to the sounds of wind racing between skyscrapers and large amounts of electronic buzzing that signified electric billboards. Wally turned his head the other way and jerked back in surprise. Echoes were moving back at him; something was flying at him! "It's bad. Definitely bad."

As Wally heard the echoes coming closer and closer, he took the time to study the thing with his other senses. It wasn't human because he didn't hear a heart beating or at least, nothing like a human heart. He could smell rancid breath and a peculiar odor that he normally used to identify what planet an alien was from. Uncle Hal had helped him realize that every planet had a unique scent on it and that he could identify any alien from the scent of its home planet. The two had spent months going to different planets and letting Wally catalogue their scents. This was not one that he'd ever smelt before. Based on the sounds of the machine the thing was presumably flying at him on, it had a pretty complex form of transportation. Wally assumed that he and the other two speedsters had stopped the magnetic field from destroying the earth since he was, well, on earth. At least, he thought he was on earth. The skyscrapers made him think Metropolis, but this wasn't any part of Metropolis he'd felt before and with his luck, ending up on another planet really wasn't that much of a stretch.

Falcon shrugged to himself and took a flying leap at the alien barreling towards him. Wally's breath stuttered in surprise as he punched the creature and rolled into a crouch behind the wreckage of the fallen spacecraft. He was way faster than he used to be! "Maybe that MFD boosted my powers or something. Aw shoot!" Wally wanted to punch himself, "Artemis is going to kill me! I wonder how long I've been gone. I'm going to be in so much trouble with her when I get home! And Nightwing'll kill me. And Abuse. And Robin and Red Robin and Red Hood and Batwoman and Oracle and Batman and Agent A and Spoiler and Flash and the Rogues and everyone is going to kill me for this. Fantastic."

Before he could think much further on that, Wally heard screaming coming from around the corner. He grimaced at where he presumed the alien laid unconscious behind him and rushed forward to the sound. What he found was… interesting to say the least.

He could hear people huddled in a dangerously creaking building that was somehow surviving the attack, but those same machines that the alien had met earlier was on were rushing at it. Falcon took out the aliens one at a time and listened to the rest of the scene while doing so. There was a huge building that, according to the echoes he heard, was irregularly shaped; it had a beam of something that was buzzing shooting out of a spot near the top and at the spot where the beam of buzzing ended there was a big circle of buzzing noise that his echo locator wasn't close enough to discern what it was. He could tell from the sounds that the aliens were coming from the circle though. He assumed it was a portal to somewhere else in space. That was surprisingly not odd. More aliens were attacking further down the street where what sounded like two men stood side by side. Wally could hear electricity buzzing and whipping around one of them (kind of like it did with Captain Marvel sometimes) and he could feel huge vibrations in the air whenever the lightning dude hit something with his weapon (Wally figured from the pattern of the vibrations that it was rather large and had at least one large flat side, almost like a war hammer, but that would be weird). The other man had a slightly faster than usual heartbeat. It wasn't anywhere near as fast as speedsters', but it was almost like Superman's, or Superboy's. Their hearts beat a little bit faster than humans because of needing more oxygen to their muscles for the cellular respiration to produce the necessary energy to use all of their super strength. Wally assumed that this guy (who was hereby dubbed as strong dude) had super strength of some sort.

Lightning dude and strong dude were talking to each other while they fought. Soon, there weren't any aliens left on their part of the street and they hadn't noticed Wally yet (at least, they hadn't said anything about him yet and their voices hadn't angled in his direction so he was pretty sure that they didn't even look his way). Strong dude started talking, presumably using some sort of comms device if the increased buzzing was any indication. Falcon put out his arm and opened the arm hologram computer thing that he couldn't be bothered to remember the name of currently and started tapping the screen. He did what Tim had taught him and hacked his way into the strong dude's ear piece using a set of memorized typing patterns. He could probably just listen in, but he would rather be focusing more on listening to other sounds (like potential aliens coming in his direction) than focusing on trying to hear what they were saying. Bits of conversation floated through to him:

"I can close it! Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down!" This was a woman's voice and Wally assumed that she was talking about the huge portal in the sky and not some other portal.

"Do it!" This was strong dude speaking, his tone worried and his voice angled at the big tower with the buzzing beam coming out of the top.

"No wait." Another man's voice came over the signal, sounding forcibly calm.

"Stark, these things are still coming!" Strong dude commented, his voice angling to a different spot in the sky.

"I got a nuke coming in. Its gonna blow in less than a minute." The man, presumably Stark, responded. Wally immediately ran quickly to the top of a skyscraper, almost falling off the other end. He had underestimated his speed. That'd have to change soon. He started listening for the sounds of a nuke flying through the skyline. They were surprisingly loud devices and they displaced a lot of wind.

"I know just where to put it." Stark's voice continued over the connection, that forced calm still evident in his voice. Falcon finally heard the nuke and he heard something else flying behind it, mechanic whirring and clicking in a shape that vaguely resembled a human. It reminded Wally of Red Tornado, just with a heartbeat inside. Wait. A heartbeat? Did that mean there was a human in that metal suit?

"Stark. You know that's a one-way trip." Strong dude responded seriously. Falcon listened as Stark zoomed closer, a nuke in his metallic grip.

"Save the rest for the…" Stark said more than that, but Wally wasn't listening to him anymore. He had run down to save some little girl from another hovercraft after hearing her screams. These aliens were starting to get on his nerves. He'd had enough aliens for a long time. There was a terse pause while Stark threw himself into the portal and nothing happened. Then, suddenly, Falcon heard all of the aliens fell to the ground, unconscious or dead. Wally listened in the direction of the portal anxiously for Stark to return.

There was another pause until, "Close it." It was strong dude's voice and Wally assumed he was the leader. Wally's heart clenched. He didn't know who these people were or where the Justice League was, but he didn't like to see any good person hurt. The portal started to close with a sound like thunder.

Just as Wally was turning away, though, the scent of something metallic tumbled through the small opening of the portal. The speedster whooped and threw a fist in the air. Then he noticed that the metal scent of the suit wasn't accompanied by the whirring of gears or the steady beat of a heart. The man just kept falling and falling. Wally heard the sound of lightning dude spinning his weapon around and Wally could hear the tensing of the man's muscles (how weird was that? His hearing had definitely improved) and the speedster assumed that lightning dude was going to try to catch the metal man. Wally winced at the thought of it; it would hurt. Bad.

So Falcon flew down the building, whizzing past strong dude and lightning dude, who probably stared at his retreating form with confusion. Falcon flew up another building and leapt off, catching Stark as he went (he hadn't thought of how much it would hurt him to catch a large metal man) and turning so he was prepped to start running down the building across the street. He slightly regretting getting rid of his cape when he became Falcon; the gliding properties of the memory cloth cape would have been awesome at the moment. Wally grunted as Stark's dead weight threw him off balance. Luckily, with Wally's increased speed, he was still able to make it to the other building and he immediately started running down it.

When Falcon puffed to a stop in front of strong dude and lightning dude, some huge dude had joined them. His shape reminded Wally of a really big version of Abuse. Wally deposited Stark and ran up another building to listen from a distance. He still wasn't quite sure what was going on. Lightning dude spluttered at the spot Wally had been standing in confusion while strong dude tried to get Stark to wake up. Doubt seized Wally as he worried that he hadn't been fast enough, that Stark's heart had stopped. Then huge dude roared at Stark and the man's heart came pounding back into existence. Now that Wally was listening closer, there was something that sounded like machinery whirring and buzzing at a spot right above Stark's heart. Weird, but Falcon couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. Wally rested his head against a near-by air duct and breathed out a laugh of relief.

Strong dude seemed to be explaining the situation to Stark, who then leaned up and turned his head in different directions, obviously trying to find something. Wally leaned over the edge of the building, trying to listen for what Stark was looking for. Then Stark's upper half turned in Wally's direction and he lifted an arm, presumably pointing. Wally's breath stuttered and he backed up. Strong dude's voice fizzled over the ear piece, asking, "Barton?"

A new voice that came from behind him and in his ear said quietly, "Got him." Suddenly there were handcuffs around his wrists, holding them in place behind his back. Wally silently cursed this Barton dude who had snuck up on him (he blamed it on the fact that his super increased senses were throwing him off and he couldn't concentrate enough to notice the man). The whole Bat Clan was annoying enough!

As Barton led Wally down the stairs of the building he had run up (Wally sensed a bow slung over his back that reminded Wally painfully of Artemis and made him wonder again how long he'd been gone), Wally thought about what to do. He could get out of Barton's grip if he ran fast, but stairs mixed with his hands cuffed behind his back mixed with no sight? Not a good idea, especially with his extra speed. An idea hit Wally. If he was faster than he had been, did that mean that he could phase through things? He pitched the idea almost immediately. He didn't know how fast he could go and he didn't want to risk it. Besides, these people just saved… wherever they were. They had to be good, right? Then again, Wally had known good people to do bad things. He decided he would just wait until he met the people before taking off.

They finally stepped into the street and Falcon was faced with strong dude, lightning dude, huge dude, and Stark. Barton pushed him forward gently until he was only a few feet away from the four imposing figures. Barton then moved to stand in front of the speedster, the sound of plastic against a bow string telling the speedster that he was aiming an arrow at him for good measure. Stark paused and was probably looking him up and down, only slightly leaning on strong dude for support. Then he said, "Who the heck are you supposed to be?"

"Um…" Wally listened around him, trying to hear someone he recognized. If this was Metropolis, Superman should be coming soon. Did they not know who he was? He wasn't quite as famous as some of the other heroes, but he had never not been recognized before (whether they used the right name or not was an entirely different story; he still blamed the Rogues for that whole fiasco). Wally decided that he was going to not trust these people quite yet because he still didn't know what was going on, "Hi. This is just something that I wear to… go roller skating. You know? Roller derbies. I was caught up in the… um… alien attack that was happening a few seconds ago. So, yeah." He mentally face palmed.

"Uh huh, riiight…" Barton probably stared at his rather obvious superhero suit and said, "Roller skating."

Wally was about to reply when strong dude said, "We have bigger problems right now." They all turned their bodies towards the tower Wally had noticed earlier and then strong dude continued, "We can take him behind us and ask him questions later. We need to deal with Loki now." What was a Loki? Or, well, who was a Loki? Wally was so confused. That was the last time he ever ran opposite an MFD. They started walking away, Barton returning to drag Wally with them when he hadn't moved.

After a few minutes of silently walking through the warzone that this city had become (Wally could hear the creaking of the building and he could smell the charred bodies and he could taste the fires and tears on the air), the talkative speedster broke the silence, "Sooo… what're your guy's names? I don't think I've seen you guys before, but you have some sweet moves." Not that he could see them anyways. Whatever.

They all turned their bodies towards him, probably to stare at him as if he was the crazy one. Well, except for huge dude; he just continued to stomp happily away. What was up with that? They were the people who weren't on any Justice League or Batman data base, which was hard to accomplish. "What?" Wally asked defensively.

"You don't know who we are?" Stark asked in amazement.

"No…. Should I?" Wally let an expression of confusion settle across his face.

"You haven't heard about billionaire Tony Stark being kidnapped and having a mini arc reactor placed in his chest and becoming Iron Man? You haven't heard about the star spangled man with a plan Captain America, the soldier Steve Rogers who was given a super soldier serum to help win the war? You haven't heard about scientist Doctor Bruce Banner trying to recreate the serum and accidently giving himself too much gamma radiation so he turns into the Hulk? You don't know about any of us?" Barton's voice got more incredulous each time he asked a question and Wally shook his head no. Barton sighed and told him, "You've had a deprived life, my friend." Wally was just confused. He assumed strong dude was Captain America then and the huge dude was probably Hulk, but Wally wasn't too sure about that one.

By then, they had made it to the tower. The six of them went inside the building and took the elevator up, waiting as rock music (in an elevator?) played. The music, despite actually being relatively quiet, sounded to Wally as if he were at a concert with his ear pressed against a speaker. Well, he'd never had that experience, so he couldn't say for sure that it was that loud, but he assumed they were pretty equal. They walked onto a floor near the top and Barton told Wally to stay near the elevator and not move otherwise he would be shot. Wally just nodded; these people were violent.

The group of heroes (joined by a woman with a tight suit that made the softest of creaking noises when she moved) dealt with a man who was lying in what was probably a pile of rubble on the ground and whose head had this weird shape that reminded Wally of antlers. Just what had this speedster gotten himself into? Wally was joined by another man who introduced himself as Eric Selvig before scooting a little ways away from the speedster. He probably saw the handcuffs. Strong dude (who Wally now knew was Captain America) and lightning dude (who Wally still didn't know the name of) took antler dude away down in the elevator with Selvig joining them. Then the attention shifted to Wally; he could feel the weight of their questioning glances.

He awkwardly waved with his chained hands. He still had no idea what was going on. Stark came over and clunked his way towards what smelled like a kitchen, dragging Wally behind him. Falcon was getting really sick of being dragged everywhere. Stark took off the hand cuffs and said, "Stay in here and eat whatever you want. Don't leave for any reason." Stark then tilted his head towards the ceiling and said, "JARVIS, lock the doors to this room and let us know if he tries to get out, okay?"

A voice responded in a British accent, "Very well, sir." Well, that was weird. There weren't any other heartbeats and the only machinery Wally could hear was the normal kitchen sounds and the pipes that usually ran through a house. He was getting sick of all of this confusion. Couldn't someone just up and tell him what was going on?

Wally waited for Stark to leave before raiding the refrigerator. He sifted through everything, taking out what smelled like the most calorie and sugar rich foods and creating a small pile. When the speedster turned to shut the fridge, he finally noticed something. His hand felt really small. Well, not really small, but smaller than it had been last time he checked. Taking a second to coordinate himself, he then took stock of his body parts. Everything felt smaller. Fantastic. Wally groaned before comparing his height to some things and feeling around his face. He was fourteen again! He had just lost over four years of his life! Wally groaned again and put his head in his hands. Wally still had all of his memories, so that was good. He remembered the situation that got him here, which was also good. He had no idea where he was or why it had strange effects on him (boosted speed, boosted senses that had already been boosted beforehand, and de-aging), which was bad. Wally determined that he would ignore it for now and think about the whole thing later, choosing to focus on his pile of food for the moment.

He started working his way through it, eating at a normal enough speed in case someone was watching. As far as he could tell, no one had figured out his super speed yet and he didn't want to give them anything. After working his way through about half the (admittedly large; he hoped no one got suspicious because of the amount of food, but a growing speedster's gotta eat) pile, Wally asked casually, "You there JARVIS?"

"Yes sir," was the immediate response. What was this thing?

Wally grinned and spoke around his food, "Are you an AI?"

"Yes sir," it responded again. Oh, that explained it. Cool.

"So, can you tell me about the people who just saved… this city? Apparently I'm 'deprived' since I haven't heard of them and I'd really like to learn about them since they're heroes." Wally gave his most big-eyed innocent look.

JARVIS responded, "I can show you instead, if you'd like."

"I'd love that although it'd be great if there was some audio explanation type thing so I don't have to guess what the pictures or videos are showing me. Just wait a second while I get some more food." Wally dug in the pantry and cabinets for some more food (what? He was hungry!) and then he sat down in a seat and waited until JARVIS instructed him to turn around to look at the screen. He figured that in case someone was watching him, he might as well pretend that he could still see. Might help later on. Wally then listened and learned all about the heroes and the Avengers initiative and the fact that, according to this, there was no Justice League.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally's confused, so everyone's confused. Except Matt and Foggy because they're great. Also, Wally's in a different dimension.

TTTTTT

Tony Stark did not feel good. His head ached from the lack of oxygen in space and his chest hurt from his heart stopping and starting up again. His whole body hurt from the battle in general. On top of all of that, there was some strange kid in an even stranger outfit currently locked in his kitchen. He needed some alcohol.

Bruce, who had calmed himself back into human state, sat on one of the remaining couches and ran his hands through his plaster covered hair. Natasha and Clint were in much the same state: tired, dirty, and completely done with the day. Unfortunately, Cap and Thor were off dealing with Loki, so that left the kid as their responsibility.

Since no one was offering anything, Tony asked of no one in particular, "Does anyone know how roller skate kid saved me? Cap and Thor were sure that it was him who got me, but it doesn't make any sense how."

"What I'm confused about is how he hasn't heard about any of us. I mean, we haven't teamed up before, but he had to have never seen television and never gone to a store to have not heard of us or our merchandise. I think they're even teaching about Captain America in school starting in middle school. He's definitely older than middle school." Barton spoke up.

Natasha looked between the three of them before asking, "What kid?"

"JARVIS?" Tony called.

"Yes sir." The AI responded.

Tony asked loudly, "Put up the video of the kid in the kitchen, will you?" There was a short pause before the TV blinked to life, showing a live feed of the Stark Tower kitchen. Tony jerked back with surprise when he saw it. The kid had a pile of food the size of the Black Widow (woman, not spider) sitting in front of him (which might be a little bit of an overstatement, but whatever; point was, he was eating a lot of food), watching video clips about the Avengers.

"Where did he come from?" Natasha asked. The three guys shrugged.

"Maybe one of us should go talk to him." Bruce suggested.

Tony and Clint both said, "Nose goes!" at the same time, quickly lifting their fingers to their noses. Natasha immediately did the same thing.

Bruce just looked at them sadly as if they were what was wrong with the world and shook his head before wandering off towards the kitchen. Tony, Clint, and Natasha watched avidly as Bruce opened the door and stepped into the room.

The kid's head jerked up in surprise, almost knocking over the (considerably reduced) pile of food in his attempt to stand up. Bruce raised his hands in a, 'I'm not here to hurt you' gesture and nodded towards the chair across from the kid. There was no response and Bruce asked, "Can I take that chair in front of yours?" The kid stepped back and sat down before nodding that Bruce could do the same. Tony had to admit that Banner was handling this pretty well.

Banner asked the kid, "Can you tell me your name?" The kid shook his head no, his mouth hardening into a look of resolve. The doctor tried again with a slightly different question, "What do you want us to call you then?"

Whatever the boy responded was too low for them to hear, but Bruce smiled and asked his next question, "Do your parents know you're here, Barry?" The look of resolve crumbled a little bit and the kid looked as if he honestly didn't know the answer to the question before shaking his head no again.

Banner asked, "Do you want to try to call them, to tell them that you're safe?" There was a pause before the kid shook his head no again, his expression becoming one of pain (how he managed to show so much emotion with his eyes completely covered was beyond Tony; he was actually mildly impressed). It was obvious he wanted to call his parents, but felt that he couldn't. Bruce took out his phone and opened it up, going to the call option. He held it out to Barry (as the kid wanted to go by for some unfathomable reason) and said, "You can call anyone. Your family, your friends…"

There was a long pause and then the kid reached out and grabbed the phone, staring at it curiously for a moment before typing in a number. Tony called out, "JARVIS?"

The AI responded quickly, "The conversation will be projected to you momentarily."

Within seconds, the trio heard a phone ringing and watched the screen. For about half a minute, the phone continued to ring, but then an automated female voice spoke evenly, "The number you are trying to reach does not exist. Please check the number to make sure it is correct and try again." The teen pulled the phone away and retyped the number. If Tony was seeing correctly, Barry ran his fingers over each button slowly before pressing it. Weird. The phone gave off the same response and the kid pressed the off button and handed the phone back to Bruce, his lips a thin, white line.

Bruce looked mildly disappointed, but forged on anyway, "Did you save Tony out there?"

Barry tilted his head and clarified, "Tony? Tony Stark?" Banner nodded and Barry continued, "When would I have been in a situation to save Iron Man? He seems like he doesn't need that much of my help." The kid gestured to the kitchen TV which was frozen in a picture of the whole team in the battle that had just occurred.

The doctor smiled at him, obviously started to get frustrated by Barry's lack of response. He said gently, "Thor and Captain America said they saw you catch Tony as he was falling out of the sky."

The kid sat back and munched on a cookie before answering, "That wasn't me. Whatever it was, it was moving too fast to get a good look at. I was on the roof of that building Barton found me on and saw the whole thing. Thor practically radiated confusion when Tony ended up on the ground in front of them." He laughed a loud, rich thing that clashed with his standoffish pose.

Banner smirked slightly and said, "Why were you on the roof if you were roller skating?"

The teen's answer was almost immediate, "The first rule of an apocalypse: get to somewhere safe. A friend of mine always says that the safest place during a fight is as high up as you can get because no one ever looks up and you can see everything from up there." Tony saw Clint and Natasha nodding along to that little nugget of wisdom and rolled his eyes.

Banner tried again, "If you were roller skating, then where are your roller skates? Someone as serious about roller skating as you seem to be with your outfit wouldn't leave their roller skates behind."

Barry gave Banner a droll stare and said slowly as if talking to someone way younger than him, "Imagine you're resting on a bench. You've just taken your roller blades and your backpack off and are taking a break. Now imagine an alien crashes into the ground right in front of you and another one starts shooting at you. I mean, it would be cool if it wasn't shooting at you and you weren't in immediate danger, but that's a different story. If you're in that situation, you aren't going to grab your skates. Duh." He paused and then added as an afterthought, "Or your backpack."

Bruce looked like he was about to just get up and walk out of the room, but he asked one more question, "Can you take your headpiece off so we can see your face, get you home to your parents?"

Barry's face cordoned off and he gave Bruce a flat stare and said, "No," with more force than someone as young as him should have had.

"Why not?" Bruce tried, going for friendly with a little smile.

The kid looked un-amused and said, "You've handcuffed me, kidnapped me, called me deprived, insulted my outfit, insinuated that I was lying to you, locked me in a room, and are strangers offering me food. Why should I show you who I am?"

Tony muttered more to himself than anyone, "He makes a good argument." Clint and Natasha just stared at him for a moment before rolling their eyes at the same time. Stark turned his attention back to screen as Bruce walked out. He had a feeling that he and this kid were going to get along great (if he ever saw the kid again, of course).

A half an hour of lounging around later (in which no one had tried to go talk to the kid again, but the screen had been projecting live feed the entire time), Steve Rogers walked back in with Thor and Director Fury close behind him. Fury glanced at the screen and asked Rogers, "That the kid?" Capsicle nodded and Fury nodded back.

Then the director turned their attention back to them and started talking, "Loki is being taken care of. He and the Tessaract are going to be brought back to Asgard for justice." Tony really wanted to make a comment about the Tessaract not doing anything wrong, but figured that it wouldn't be appreciated right then and kept it to himself. Fury continued, "You did good work today. You stepped up to the plate and really acted like a team. SHIELD couldn't be more proud of the Avenger's Initiative. Now, I believe that you have someone in custody."

Stark spoke up then, giving a rundown of what occurred, "Cap and Thor said that this kid caught me as I fell from the portal thingy. Bruce went to talk to the kid and all he really got was that the kid wanted to be called Barry but that isn't his actual name. He tried to call someone, but it said that the number was unavailable. He won't take his head thing off and is sticking by his story that he's a roller skater. He also eats a ridiculous amount of food. I think I'm actually going to have to have Pepper go shopping for food. He's almost wiped me out."

Fury stared at him and shook his head before saying, "You guys go enjoy yourselves and relax. You've earned it. Leave… Barry up to Agent Hill and me."

Tony ignored the tight feeling in his chest that made him feel guilty for leaving the unsuspecting teen with Director Fury and the equally intimidating (which Tony will never admit to thinking for the rest of his life) Agent Maria Hill and said loudly, "Well, then, let's try that shwarma!" Steve laughed and the rest of the team cracked smiles before following him into the (miraculously still working) elevator and towards shwarma.

NNNNNN

Director Nick Fury walked into the kitchen that Stark decided was a good place to leave a potentially dangerous stranger and observed the boy. He knew that Agent Hill was doing the same thing beside him. The kid's suit had tough shoulder pads and his arms held small compartments that could account for any number of things. The top half of his 'roller skating' suit was a brownish tan and the bottom half was a dark brown. The dark brown color also appeared at his elbows and gloves and his goggles were a dark brown that seemed completely opaque. His boots were the same brownish tan that made up the top half of his suit. In a holster on his leg was what looked like an Escrima stick, but the topper on the stick was hidden by some more padding. Dark brown lightning bolts sat over his ears and in the center of his chest was a dark brown circle containing a dark brown lightning bolt and a shimmery, barely visible outline of a falcon. The boy's hair was allowed to flow free and was a thick, black, tangled mess. His skin was pale and his face was tinged with lines of pain.

When they advanced on him, the boy (Barry as he'd been asked to be called) backed up further, his face giving away no emotions. It didn't take much for Agent Hill to wrestle Barry's hands behind his back and handcuff him. Maria Hill attempted to remove the goggles, but they seemed to be stuck to his face. Frustrated, Fury had him blindfolded and led out of the room and into the elevator where they stopped at ground level and hustled into a quinjet. The plane flew them to a secret SHIELD facility on the outskirts of New York.

Hill marched Barry inside and into a room where he was shoved into a metal chair that was designed to be uncomfortable. The blindfold was taken off, but Fury made sure that his hands remained cuffed. Barry was sitting behind a bare metal table on a bare metal chair with a camera facing him. It was set up to make him nervous. Director Fury placed his hands on the table and looked the kid in the face. Maria Hill stood slightly behind and off to the side of the director, her presence a reassurance of his safety. Fury asked a question, "Who are you really?" The kid ignored the Director and wiggled his hands around, probably trying to see if there was any leeway. There wasn't. Fury had made sure of that. Fury tried again, "Who are you? You will answer me right now." There was an underlying threat to the words and Director Fury was surprised when the kid didn't even flinch. This wasn't some normal kid who'd stumbled his way into the situation on accident. There was something interesting going on. Fury didn't like it.

Making a decision, Fury leaned away from the table, motioning for Hill to remain where she was. Fury would leave the silent Hill in the room with the kid for a good hour or so and see if he was willing to talk by then. Before he could make it all of the way out the door, however, a set of handcuffs went flying through the air and hit Agent Hill in the head, knocking her out before she could catch them. The kid (who had somehow managed to escape the handcuffs that gave Natasha a challenge) ran forward and somehow managed to duck underneath Fury's reaching arms. Fury had reacted almost instantly and yet the kid still had faster reflexes.

Fury ran to the wall, grabbing an alarm and pulling it, listening as the sound started blaring throughout the building, metal walls replacing doors in a heartbeat. Nick Fury turned to check on one of his most trusted agents. By the time he'd managed to rouse her, stemming the bleeding coming from the wound caused by the force of the cuffs hitting her forehead, a guard had come into the room and announced gravely that Barry had been seen running into the woods but that his tracks disappeared from there. He seemed to be headed back to New York though. Fury cursed to himself.

WWWWWW

Wally was feeling worse than when he woke up in this strange place despite eating all that great food. Bruce's phone number hadn't been recognized and he knew for a fact that it was the right number. Batman, Red Robin, and Robin had all worked on creating the phones that the Bat Clan used so they could call anyone anywhere and get a call from anyone anywhere. There shouldn't have been any reason that the number would be unrecognizable. Everything was just getting more and more confusing by the second and his head was pounding and he couldn't concentrate with all the sounds and smells and tastes and feeling that he was being subjected to in a way he'd never experienced before and his body was still aching after being hit with those beams from the MFD. This was bad. This was very, very bad.

What was also bad was the fact that he was apparently in New York right now. New York City, New York. Also known as this city didn't smell/sound anything like this before Wally woke up. Which was bad, very bad. Wally was also now wandering the streets of said New York City wearing his hero outfit. Luckily there weren't many people out in the wreckage of what was, apparently, an alien attack, but he still needed to change his clothes and fast. The speedster listened around furtively and snuck into an alley, checking the whole thing and pressing a few buttons that knocked out any cameras nearby. Then Wally quickly (very, very quickly) got out of his costume and pressed down on the top of his ring. The costume floated up in the air and got sucked into the ring, compressing infinitely. Wally was glad that Uncle Barry had given him his own Flash legacy suit ring (he was also grateful for the training Green Lantern ring that Hal had given him; the thing could make small constructs and had actually come in handy earlier when he was using the constructs to keep his goggles on; luckily the ring wasn't powerful enough to transform his outfit into the whole GL uniform). Wally had had the ingenious idea of putting his extra suits in rings and putting the rings in the pockets of one suit, including his Swift suit rings and some rings with civvies (Bruce's idea), so he was always carrying around some extras (he was smart enough to leave some at home in case something very drastic happened to the suit). That meant that he had more than one suit on him at the moment in this strange place he'd ended up, and more than one civvies outfit. He wasn't entirely without.

Wally thought quickly. He'd tried his comms on the way to wherever he was and he'd only gotten static; it was obvious he wouldn't be getting help that way. What would he need? Well, first things first, he should figure out where he was in relation to everything. He grabbed out his phone and pressed the on button, quickly going to the option where he could ask it things. He grabbed his ear phones and put them in, listening as the phone made thinking noises. He had to turn the volume down to almost nothing to not be deafened by it. Finally, Wally got the chance to ask, "Locate position."

The phone thought and thought and thought before finally announcing, "Cannot connect to the internet. No internet connections available." Okay, that was weird. Bruce had his own satellite which this phone just happened to be connected to. He could get service anywhere, especially in NYC where there's literally not a spot that doesn't have service Mysteries just piled onto mysteries.

That's when Wally face-palmed. He could just call his family on his phone. That Banner dude's phone was probably defective or something and that was the problem. Announcing to his phone, "Call Bruce," he waited patiently for the ringing to stop.

It wasn't long before a cool female voice reported, "Cannot make call. The number you are trying to reach is out of range. Try again once you are in range." Bad, bad, bad! As aforementioned, Bruce had his own freaking satellite and was a superhero. They were never out of range! Ever! For any reason whatsoever! Wally groaned and ran his hand through his hair, frowning momentarily at the texture. Shoot! He'd left his hair dye in. Grabbing a pouch, he quickly squirted a little bit of the hair dye remover into his palm and quickly rubbed the dye out. It would be weird enough seeing Wally West-Wayne in the middle of New York City, let alone seeing him with black hair. That would raise some unwanted questions.

Wally was running out of things to do, though. He needed to figure out why NYC seemed so different, but he couldn't call anyone or even access the internet. What was he supposed to do? He thought, brain running at super speed to think of a solution. Finally, Wally smiled. The library! He could go to the library! Wally started to set off for his next destination, intending to ask for directions from someone before he realized that he needed to fix the cameras. Oops, that would have been bad. Resetting the nearby cameras with a quick voice order, he set out of the alley.

Quickly coming across two men walking, Wally tapped his way over to them with the dragon cane that Artemis had given him a couple years back, the one that was an exact replica of the one Damian had given him on his first Christmas as a Wayne. Listening closer and using the echo location devices built into his glasses, Wally realized that one of the men was blind like him (at least, that's what Wally assumed from the tapping of the stick on the ground and the arm he had looped in the other man's arm) and the other was a slightly pudgy man. The two were arguing like they were best friends and Wally was hesitant to intrude, but he needed to get to the library. "Excuse me?" Wally called out.

The two men stopped and when he was sure he had their attention, the speedster smiled sheepishly and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, "I got a little lost; at least, I think I did. I was wondering if you could give me the directions to the nearest library. I was told that there was one somewhere around here, but I think I might have taken the wrong turn a while back or something. I'm not entirely certain."

"You're going to the library?" The pudgy man said before amending quickly, "Not that there's any problem with a blind person going to the library. I mean, whatever and all that."

The other person laughed, quiet and calming on Wally's abused ears. It was as if he understood the need to talk quietly in the endless cacophony of New York, "I think it'd be better if we brought you there ourselves so you don't get lost again, young man. My name's Matt Murdock, you can call me Matt, and my friend here is Franklin Nelson, but he goes by Foggy. You're not that far away."

Wally's shoulders slumped with relief and he responded with relish, "Thank you. My name's Wally by the way. And I'm meeting a friend at the library. He's giving me a place to stay here while my parents are on vacation." Shoot. Should he have told them his real name? They didn't seem to recognize him as Wally West-Wayne, so that was good. Continuing while he was ahead, Wally asked, "Um, so where am I exactly? I just want to make sure I'm still in the right area at least. I've been wandering for a while." His sheepish smile was much more genuine this time and his cheeks heated up slightly.

Foggy took over, his voice tinged with curiosity, "You're in Hell's Kitchen. How come your friend didn't just pick you up at the air port or train station or whatever? It isn't good to leave anyone to wander around Hell's Kitchen alone, especially when they're blind. Uh, no offense again."

Wally laughed, "No problem." He thought furiously for a second. That was a really good question that he didn't have a good answer to. He made up his excuse on the spot, "He couldn't come at the time the train came, so he said I should go to the library instead because it'd be a safer place to wait for him." Matt gave a noncommittal sound to show that he understood, but Wally had the strangest feeling that Matt knew that he was lying. There was something about this blind guy that made Wally feel camaraderie with him. Wally felt like Matt could commiserate with him and knew the struggles of being blind and having increased senses that made one's head want to explode with all the sensory overload, but that was ridiculous. There was no way. Then again, Wally had no idea what was going on and everything he held as the truth was proving itself wrong. For all he knew this blind man he randomly met could be a superhero and he'd never know. Wouldn't that be just his luck?

Just then, Foggy announced, "We're here at the library. Why don't you call out for your friend and see if he's here? I don't feel comfortable leaving you here alone."

Wally bit his lip and thought to himself. Who should he call out for? He settled on calling out, "Dick? Hey, you here dude?"

Foggy smothered a snort, "Your friend's name is Dick? What sort of parent does that to their kid?"

"It's short for Richard," Wally felt the need to defend his friend. He heard Matt's quiet laughter to the side. There was a short pause while they all listened to a response that only Wally knew wouldn't come. Wally's shoulders slumped and he said quietly, "I guess he isn't here yet. I'll just wait inside for him. Thank you guys so much for showing me where the library is!"

"Where are your things if you're staying at a friend's house?" Matt's voice broke in before Foggy could respond. Wally could feel Foggy eying him curiously, obviously wondering the same thing. The speedster mentally cursed. He couldn't exactly tell them that all of his current possessions were compacted into a small ring on his finger. That wouldn't go over well.

He answered quickly (gotta love a speedster's increased thought processing), "They're already at my friend's house. We're practically brothers we're so close, so it's kind of a we've got clothes at each other's houses already kind of thing." What was with this sudden interrogation?

Matt responded just as quickly, "If you're that good of friends, wouldn't you know where his house is and be able to get to it?" Seriously? Was this dude a lawyer or something? Jeez!

"I've never gone to his house by train before. Is everything alright?" Wally questioned. Did this guy suspect something? What would he suspect? Wally didn't even know what was going on.

There was a pause before Matt answered, "Yeah, everything's alright. I just want to make sure that you have somewhere safe to go. On second thought, do you have a phone?" Wally could hear Matt's heartbeat increase slightly like he was lying or something. Weird.

Wait, what? Matt's question finally sank in and Wally considered how to answer. He had a phone, but it was obviously having serious problems (which, again, shouldn't be possible). He decided on answering, "I have one at my friend's house." His smile was slow and slightly embarrassed.

Matt let out a huff that might have been a sigh and might have been a laugh, but Wally was distracted by the sound of metal pipes falling in a construction site a couple blocks over. He couldn't quite hold in the flinch when he heard it. Then Matt started talking again, "Why don't you give Foggy your friend's number and Foggy will call him and see where he is?"

Wally bit his lip before hesitantly telling Foggy Dick's number. It couldn't hurt to try. He heard the ringing through Foggy's phone before an automated female voice announced, "The number you are trying to reach does not exist. Please check the number and try again." Foggy pressed some buttons again, but received the same response. Wally couldn't help the small, desperate sound that clawed its way up his throat. He got the strangest impression that Matt heard it despite the minute quietness of the sound.

Foggy cleared his throat and said, "This says that the number doesn't exist. I typed it in twice to make sure. Are you sure you got the right number?"

"I'm sure." Wally's voice was tainted with worry as he answered. The worry wasn't faked at all. What was going on here? He couldn't stand not knowing!

"I think your friend pulled a disappearing act on you, Wally." Matt's voice was soft and concerned when he answered. Wally allowed his expression to morph into one of despair and confusion for Foggy's benefit. Matt continued slowly, "I have a business card in Braille right here – Foggy and I are lawyers. We really need to get to a hearing soon, but promise that if your friend doesn't show by the time the library closes tonight, you'll find a way to call me and we'll figure something out, alright?"

"Okay," Wally answered. A card was pressed into his fingers and he felt the words at the top announcing Nelson and Murdock lawyer services. Looks like the dude actually was a lawyer. What are the odds?

Matt pressed, "Promise."

Wally responded in a small voice, "I promise." Great, now he would have to make the call otherwise he'd feel guilty. Maybe it was a good thing, he mused as Matt and Foggy made a retreat towards where, presumably, the court house was, waving and saying goodbye as they left. This way he had people who were willing to help him out even if they asked too many uncomfortable questions. Well, if he couldn't find a way to get in contact with his friends any time soon, he'd have the rest of the day to think up a cover story.

Walking into the library, he was able to find a very nice librarian who was kind enough to show him to the Braille section (neither the Gotham nor Palo Alto libraries had a Braille section; this was a novel experience and it a little bit made Wally's day). Settling among the shelves and running his hands across the labels on the shelves, he was able to find the atlas section and he pulled down a book. First he flipped to a section that listed all of the states of the USA and their cities. He took a good ten minutes running his fingers down the words and found that all of the state names were the same, but a lot of cities were missing, having been replaced by others. Gotham City, Metropolis, Central City, Coast City, Star City, Happy Harbor, Ivy Town. Even his birth city, Blue Valley was missing. Wally slammed his head against the table gently, not wanting to disturb the other patrons of the library. He found the next section of the atlas where the countries of the world were listed and he ran his fingers down those. Rhelasia and Vlatava were missing along with a couple others and there were other countries that he'd never heard of, like Wakanda. There were two possible things that could have happened. Either he went forward in time (a lot) where those cities were gone and the Justice League was gone and a lot of the countries were gone but the technology hadn't changed at all (which was a very, incredibly unlikely outcome), or he somehow traveled to an alternate dimension or universe (which was a slightly more likely outcome based on his calculations and, knowing his luck, very possible. Fantastic. That meant that he traveled to an alternate dimension that he didn't even know existed before now. This day was just getting better and better as he went.

Wally called over a librarian and asked her if she could tell him when the library closed. Her voice was kind when she answered sweetly, "It closes at 11:30, sweetheart."

That was rather late for a library, but Wally wasn't complaining. He smiled winningly at her and asked, "Would it be alright if I used the computers here until then?"

"Of course honey! I hope you enjoy yourself sweetie!" The kindly librarian answered encouragingly and Wally didn't need to be told twice.

He was so glad that the rest of the members of the Bat Clan had taught him all the points of hacking despite his obvious lack of sight. He knew a way to hack even without a computer made especially for the blind, but since this library had a small army of laptops dedicated to that particular disability, his life was made significantly easier. He would have to start an entirely new life here, create a Wally West-Wayne (or Wally West… or Wally Wayne; he wasn't sure yet, but he was leaning towards the third one) out of thin air and have enough digital evidence to prove that he'd been here the whole time. He figured that he'd go ahead and put down his birth roots in Kansas City, Kansas because that was as close to where he was actually born as he could get. He made sure to place himself in his senior year of high school because he'd graduated that years ago and besides, he'd been fourteen when he'd graduated the first time around; he could do it again. He fabricated the deaths of his parents (forging undetailed lives for them and a couple generations of their ancestors in case someone decided to do some serious digging into his 'past') Bruce and Selina Wayne. He claimed that they died in a mugging gone wrong. Apparently child services were out to get him, but he had managed to evade their grasps by coming to New York where an old friend said that he could house him. Wally hadn't been able to get back to his old house to get his things before he had to flee. At least, that was the story he was going with and that was what was officially recorded as his life.

By the time Falcon was done creating himself in this dimension (he'd cheated and used super speed whenever he couldn't hear someone close enough to possibly be able to see him), it was time for the library to close. He'd been at this for hours. It was harder than he'd thought. Wally got up and stretched, getting ready to go and find a place to stay. Then he realized that he didn't have any money. At all. He plopped down again, ignoring the concerned noises of the kind librarian. Wally's useless eyes welled with tears. Everyone he loved was in a different dimension and probably thought he was dead. No one would look for him. He was still in an incredible amount of pain from getting attacked by the MFD. He had absolutely no way of getting back to his dimension and no way of researching how he got there in the first place because they didn't have Reach technology in this dimension as far as he could tell. All he had with him was everything in/on his suit, his extra suits, and his clothes. The only things he had to remind him of his past world was the little booklet he had with the raised edge images of his friends and the ring he had been planning on proposing to Artemis with.

Standing abruptly, he finally tuned into what the librarian had been saying, "-you alright? Do you have someone to pick you up?"

"Um, yeah. If you could just direct me to the nearest payphone, that'd be great. Oh… wait, never mind. I don't have money for a payphone." The last sentence was muttered and not intended for the librarian's ears, but she heard anyways and cooed at him in sympathy.

Her voice was soft when she said, "Here, sweetie. This is six dollars in quarters. It should be more than enough to pay for a call. After you make the call will you be fine?"

Wally gaped at this woman who'd gone out of her way to be incredibly nice and amazing to a strange, blind kid and found himself thinking that the world would be a beautiful place if everyone was like this woman. He stuttered, "I, I can't take this! You've already done more than enough!"

"It's no problem, hon. Come on then, let's get you to that payphone, alright?" With that, the librarian led him to a payphone and left him after he assured her that she'd be more than fine from here on out. He was just feeling over the numbers on the business card when a thump sounded from beside him.

Wally whirled around and froze. There, in front of him, stood a man that smelled like leather and sweat and blood. Wally's echolocation devices identified the object's in the man's hands as billy clubs and the strange things on the man's forehead as horns. That didn't really assure him. Wally was either being faced with a super villain/normal villain in a weird get up or he was dealing with a superhero that had a weird idea of a comforting presence (not that he was one to talk having lived with Batman).

Then Wally focused in even further and felt his heart stutter in surprise. He recognized the man's heartbeat. The word tumbled out of Wally's mouth before he could stop himself, "Matt?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally gets a home. And a suit. And a name for himself. All on pretty much the same day.

MMMMMM

Matt hadn't been able to stop thinking about that kid from earlier. Foggy had described on their way to the hearing. Apparently the kid was well-muscled (Foggy made some comment about it looking like runner's muscles but Matt was certain that Foggy didn't know any avid runners) with bright red hair that fell and curled and waved in uneven, glorious messy tangles that appeared windswept and fabulous. Foggy's words, not his. The kid, Wally, had on run of the mill clothing that wasn't easily identified as any one name brand or another and he had huge black glasses and a fancy cane. That wasn't what interested Matt, however. What interested him was the Wally's heartbeat. It beat at a faster rate than Matt had ever heard before. The blind superhero would have been concerned about the kid having a serious heart problem or something, but the kid acted like nothing was wrong. Wally acted as if having a heart that beat two, three, four times in the same space it took a normal person's to beat once, was perfectly normal. It wasn't and it was bothering Matt. Was the kid a mutant? What kind of mutant powers made someone have a heartbeat like that?

And then, there was the way that he kid had seemed calmer when Matt spoke and how the kid was always tensed, his words forced and his lies barely distinguishable with his already racing heartbeat. Matt wasn't sure why the kid was lying because he seemed honest in spots where lying would make more sense and it just… Wally confused the heck out of Matt and it annoyed him that he couldn't stop thinking about him. What else strange was there about him? Oh yeah, the kid seemed to react to noises and smells that only Matt would have been able to sense. There was one time where Wally flinched immediately after a bunch of metal pipes fell at a construction site blocks away. There was no way the kid should have been able to hear it and yet, it was the only thing that could have corresponded with the reaction.

All of those thoughts were chased from his mind when he heard someone screaming in the distance. He was Daredevil now and he couldn't afford to be distracted. He leapt across the rooftops, swinging through fire escapes and pulverizing the men who'd apparently been trying to take advantage of some random lady. What Daredevil hadn't been anticipating (and would have noticed if he'd stopped thinking about that kid that he was probably never going to see again), however, was the gun one of the men's hands and he barely had time to dodge it before another gunshot was coming from another direction and then another bullet and another. Daredevil yelled for the woman to run, his voice gruff and uneven and, hopefully, unidentifiable. He continued to fight furiously, swirling and ducking and slamming his clubs into people, constantly on guard for the wayward bullets. Then, of course, one of them hit him in the shoulder. Fantastic. That was just what he needed at the moment. Another bullet wound in his shoulder. Apparently he'd be visiting Claire tonight.

It didn't take long for Daredevil to neutralize the rest of the opponents and make it so they couldn't escape when someone eventually called the police to arrest them. Wait, he heard police sirens coming his way. Seems like someone already called the police. Good for them, not for him.

Daredevil leapt onto another fire escape and started making his way across the buildings. Eventually, he dropped into the alleyways and started running through them, the jumping from rooftop to rooftop pulling at his shoulder uncomfortably. To avoid some routine cops, he jumped onto a fire escape and went across that roof before landing in another alleyway. Then he froze. Too distracted in keeping his ear out for the police, he hadn't heard the boy in the alley he was in. Daredevil heard the air whoosh as the kid whirled around and then, with a start, he heard the strange, incredibly fast heartbeat of Wally. What was that kid still doing out and about?

Before he could make a comment, however, Wally squeaked out, "Matt?" Matt froze again. Well, shoot. That was definitely a first. The kid had just met him that day! There was no way he'd be able to recognize him; especially without being able to see him. Then Matt sighed as he remembered a thought that'd gone through his head not that long ago. The kid had to have increased hearing. He must recognize Matt's heartbeat. That was the only excuse the blind superhero could think of. Great, now he had a blind person wandering the streets with a super fast heartbeat and super senses. His day really couldn't get any better could it?

Figuring that it was useless to deny the fact, Matt responded evenly, "Wally. What are you doing? I thought I made you promise to call if your friend didn't show."

"That's why I'm at the payphone." Wally answered after a mild pause. Oh, well, okay then. Having super heightened senses doesn't always help. Matt heard Wally sniff the air before asking hesitantly, "Why's are you bleeding? Where are you hurt? Despite my disability, I can pretty easily stitch up a wound or two and I've got the supplies on me right now."

Matt begrudgingly told Wally that he'd let the boy heal him. It was really only because he wanted to keep an eye on the kid and he still needed medical attention. He didn't want to drag this strange child to Claire's. That would be weird. After a few moments of Wally gently treating his bullet wound, Matt asked gruffly, "How did you know who I am? And how did you know I was bleeding?"

Wally froze minutely before going back to tending the injury, his voice a sort of forced calm that came with avoiding a question he didn't want to answer, "Why are you in the weird get up?"

"Are you really blind?" Matt shot back.

"Would I wear the glasses and use the cane if I wasn't?" Wally responded irritably.

"That's not an answer." Matt pointed out.

Wally growled low in his throat and Matt knew he'd won. The kid sighed and said, "Promise me you'll answer my questions if I answer yours." It wasn't a question, it was an order. Matt nodded and Wally continued, "Yes, I am really blind. I knew who you were because… because I can hear your heartbeat and it sounded the same as when I met you this morning. Everyone's heartbeat sounds different. I could smell all the blood."

"Why's your heartbeat so fast?" Matt pressed when Wally trailed off.

This time Wally jerked back in surprise and didn't move to continue treating the wound. His voice was barely contained fear and panic when he asked, "How do you know that?"

"You said you'd-," Matt was cut off.

Wally frantically said over him, "No, answer my question first." Daredevil felt a thrill of surprise run through him at Wally's tone. It was way more powerful and assertive a tone than any teenager should be able to wield.

Matt's voice was forcibly calm when he answered, "The same way you knew who I was. I can hear your heartbeat. I can hear that your blood flows through your veins faster than normal people as well. The way I lost my sight, well, it gave me heightened senses. That's why I'm wearing this outfit and carrying these billy clubs. I use my heightened senses and my martial arts training to fight crime as the vigilante Daredevil. Hell's Kitchen is my domain and I protect it." Matt wasn't sure why he was telling the kid all of this, but it seemed worth it when the kid went back to gently treating his injury.

There was a pause where Matt didn't press any questions and then, finally, Wally started speaking quietly as if he were afraid of someone listening in, "When I was seven I was in an… accident. When I woke up, I realized that there were a lot of strange things going on. I had a hard time reading and people seemed to be moving really slow, or talking really slow to the point where I couldn't even understand." Matt's gut clenched as worry set in. Did he really want to know what made this kid so special? Wally continued, "I found out not that long later that I had super speed." Matt breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been expecting something awful, but that wasn't so bad. Wally went on, "It wasn't super speed like most people know it. It wasn't just that I could run fast; it was that I was fast. My entire body sped up. My very molecules were at super speed. Well, I lost my eyesight not long after I woke up. My theory is that the accident that gave me my super speed was still affecting my body when I lost my eyesight and it gave me heightened senses to compensate, so I could still run. Recently, though, like today actually, my speed took a major boost and so did my senses. I can barely concentrate on talking because everything is so loud. It's like when I first got my heightened senses all over again."

Matt bit his lip and, apparently without thinking, blurted out, "You can stay at my place for a little bit and I'll help you adjust to the senses boost."

WWWWWW

Wally rocked back, having just finished treating the wound. Did Matt just seriously offer him his house? Was he for real? Wally had no idea why he'd gone and blurted out all of that stuff about himself, but he had and now Matt was offering his house. What the heck? Wally finally spluttered out, "Seriously?"

Matt's tone was slightly sheepish when he answered, but he wasn't backing down, "I need to know that you aren't going to cause any trouble in Hell's Kitchen and you need help relearning to control your abilities. I have extra space at my house and you can do chores and stitch up my wounds and stuff as repayment. It'd work. We'd figure out what you're comfortable telling Foggy and we'd go from there."

This dimension was starting to look pretty good. Everyone he'd encountered (barring those people who'd captured him earlier) had been incredibly nice and helpful and accommodating and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. In hindsight, it was kind of like Central. Actually this place reminded him of a mix between Metropolis, Central, and Gotham. It was… surreal. Then Matt's words really sunk in and Wally protested, "I have an incredibly fast metabolism. I have to eat 10,000 calories a day! Some people can't afford that kind of grocery bills."

He heard a choking sound from Matt and tilted his head, then realized that Matt wouldn't be able to see that. Well, he should have been able to sense the shift in the air. There, so he didn't have to worry about him being blind (at least, most of the time). Matt's voice was incredulous when he said, "Ten thousand calories?! Where do you put that all?"

"Into incredibly fast metabolic reactions and all the places one's body needs energy." Wally answered sardonically. It wasn't that much food. Well, it was, but whatever. It wasn't his fault. No need to get so huffy about it.

Matt sighed and answered, "Well, food won't be a problem. You know how Foggy and I are lawyers? Well, the people we usually represent don't normally have enough money to pay us in money, so they give us food a lot of the time as pay. Food I can do. Anything else that could be detrimental to my house and budget when you come live with me?"

When? When he comes to live with Matt? When was that decided? Wally decided to ignore it (safest option; if you ignore it for long enough it goes away) and answered, "Sometimes when I get nightmares I vibrate too fast and I set the sheets on fire, but that is a few and far between event. I've gotten much better at controlling myself, so that doesn't happen very often." Well, he had gotten much better at controlling his eighteen year old self with less speed. He wasn't sure what he was going to do now with a fourteen year old body and more speed. Why was his life so complicated? He wanted Bruce and his brothers and sister. At this point, he'd take Joker just because he was something familiar. On second thought, no, he didn't want the Joker. He'd rather be stuck here than be near the Joker.

Then Matt responded, "Well then, let's get you to my house then. We can go shopping for stuff tomorrow because apparently your friend skipped out on you and he has all your stuff. You can stay at my house until your parents come back from vacation. Actually, why haven't you called your parents?"

Oh great, another question he wanted to avoid. This dude was way too smart for his own good. Wally's voice was small as he answered, "I lied. My parents are dead. My friend was supposed to shelter me from child services. Please don't tell them you found me! I graduate high school at the end of this school year and then I'm off to college and no one will care about my parents anymore. I can't go back to child services. I can't go back to the orphanage." His concern over that was real. He never wanted a repeat of his experience in the Gotham orphanage. The only good thing that came out of that was the fact that it let the Bat Clan find him. Everything else about his experience there was best left forgotten.

Matt sighed again and Wally heard his arm move upwards, probably to pinch his nose or something like that. Then Matt said, "I'm a lawyer and I fight crime at night dressed in a devil. I don't do illegal. And yet, I won't tell child services, kid. Okay? How old are you even?" By this point, Matt had started walking forward, Wally following behind demurely.

Wally remarked, "I'm fourteen." Matt made a noise of surprise and Wally just grinned at him before remembering that he couldn't see it. Was that how people felt around him all the time? Weird. After another few moments, Wally broke the silence again, "Why are you doing this?"

"To be honest, kid, I don't know," Matt sighed, "There's just something about you that makes me want to protect you and keep you from all the horrors in the world."

Wally muttered, "Too late for that," under his breath. If Matt was a normal person, he wouldn't have heard, but he wasn't a normal person.

Matt demanded, "What do you mean by that?"

Biting his lip, Wally answered, "I just mean that I fought in an alien invasion just today and then the Avengers caught me cause they thought I was doing something weird or something and then these agents took me and tried to figure out who I was and-," Wally broke off quickly. He just kept blurting out things he didn't mean to! What was wrong with him today? In hindsight, what was wrong with that library? Who had a library open the same day that aliens attack the city? And Matt and Foggy had a hearing this day. What was wrong with Hell's Kitchen? Anyways, he got way off track there.

Matt's voice was heavy with disapproval as he said, "What were you thinking fighting those aliens? You could have been killed! Did you at least wear a mask or something so I don't have to worry about SHIELD agents breaking down my door to find you?"

"What's SHIELD? And yeah, I've got a hero suit. Although, I might change the colors and theme a bit so they can't figure out that I'm the same person. So far as I can tell, they don't know that I'm blind, or that I have super speed, or that I have heightened senses, or that I have red hair." Wally responded offhandedly. He was already mentally designing a new suit. On second thought, where would he get the supplies to make it? Fantastic. He should get a new name too while he was at it. The nicknames the Rogues always used came to mind.

Matt's head tilted towards him for a moment before facing in front of them again, "SHIELD is an agency that you don't ever want to deal with. They were the ones that put the Avengers together and they tried to get a bunch of other superheroes to join too. I even got an invitation, but I was not willing to give them my identity and a sample of my blood. Why do you have a hero suit? I've never heard about someone with super speed running around saving people."

"I haven't made my official debut yet. I'll do something dramatic and save a bunch of people and tell the reporters that I'm their friendly neighborhood speedster." Wally announced proudly.

The snort Matt let out did nothing to boost Wally's self esteem and he deflated slightly. Matt's voice was tinted with mirth when he responded, "Someone already took that catch phrase. We've already got our friendly neighborhood Spiderman. You'd just seem like you were copying him."

"Spiderman?" Wally questioned.

Matt waved a hand through the air and said, "I'll tell you later. Can you get up this fire escape and onto the roof and then jump a couple feet to the roof of my apartment building? I don't plan on getting into my building through the front door dressed like this."

"Yeah, I can do it." Wally replied irritably before running back as far as he could and then tapping into his super speed (just a little bit; he didn't want to overcompensate and run off the other edge or something like that) to bound across the distance and powerfully kick off the wall so he landed lightly (thank the gods for Bat training on being completely silent) a couple stories up the fire escape. He carefully walked up the rest of the way and stopped on the roof. He waited for Matt to creep up beside him and turn him in the direction of the correct roof. Wally took a running start and leapt off, landing in a tight roll on the next roof. Matt opened a door that had apparently been propped open and walked down the few steps to what was most likely his apartment before starting to peel off his mask. Wally whispered, "That open door is a safety hazard. Someone could rob you rather easily."

Matt snorted again and said, "You don't have to whisper. And I think I'll be fine. There's nothing here worth stealing anyways. So, um, I'm sure I can get you something to wear as pajamas and then, well, you can sleep on the couch or the bed or something. We'll figure out the rest of the stuff in the morning."

"I've got some pajamas with me and I'll sleep on the bed." Wally didn't even think about what he said.

That is, until Matt said, "You said your friend had your stuff."

Wally winced; he just couldn't get his mouth and his brain to work together. He blamed it on the MFD scrambling his brains. Maybe interdimensional travel scrambles one's brains or something like that. He answered sheepishly, a hand rubbing the back of his neck, "Yeah, I mean, he does have some of my stuff, but I've got stuff too. I didn't tell you earlier because you wouldn't have believed me. I have this ring that has my superhero suit drastically compressed into it and I've got other stuff in rings on the suit in this ring and so I've got all my possessions, which, admittedly, isn't much, in there."

Wally could hear Matt's mouth open and close like he wanted to say something, but apparently he decided he was better off not knowing because he said, "I don't want to deal with that today. I'll show you to the bathroom and you can change there and then I'll lead you to the couch. Then I'm going to bed and I'm sleeping in. Don't you dare wake me up early. It's Saturday tomorrow and that's my day off." Wally nodded amiably and then was lead to the bathroom.

While he got his suit out and then, consequentially, his pajamas, he thought to himself. How much was he willing to tell Matt? He didn't think that he was ready to tell him about the fact that he wasn't from this dimension. And was he really willing to stay at Matt's house until the end of high school? What he really needed was to find a way to get back to his home, but that didn't seem like it was going to happen anytime soon. He had no idea where to start. The only place he could even think of starting was that SHIELD place. It sounded secretive and like the kind of place that would easily have alien tech or at least, greatly improved tech that he might be able to get home with. How to get in contact with them, though?

He opened the door and Matt led him to the couch. Wally laid down and waited until Matt was in his room and the door closed before he pulled out the little booklet he had grabbed from his suit. Slowly he ran his fingers over each and every picture, cherishing the shapes of his family. Bruce, Alfred, Cass, Tim, Damian, Colin, Dick, Roy, Steph, Jason, Artemis, Uncle Barry, Uncle Ollie, Aunt Dinah, Aunt Iris, Uncle Hal, Hartley, James, Uncle Sam, Uncle Mark, Uncle Len, Uncle Mick, Uncle Digger, Aunt Diana, Uncle Clark, Kaldur, Bart, Jinx, Barbara, M'gann, Conner, Zatanna, Raquel, so many more, so many pages of people who he loved with all of his heart and there was a great chance that he'd never see them again. Wally couldn't help the tears that poured down his cheeks. Alone and terrified of the future, Wally cried himself to sleep.

MMMMMM

Matt woke up feeling refreshed for the first time in a long time. He'd cut his patrol off faster than he normally did due to the bullet wound and the kid that was currently sleeping on his couch and he was so exhausted from the events of the day that his normal mental alarm clock decided to not go off. It was a little disconcerting to wake up to the sounds of people outside the building doing their midmorning shopping as opposed to rushing to get to their early morning jobs, but he could deal. He hoped the kid was already awake because otherwise he'd have to be pretty quiet (as in really, really quiet because Wally could hear pretty much just as well as he could). Listening for sounds beyond the door, he heard deep, even breaths and a heartbeat that was too fast to be natural. Sounded like he was still asleep then. Great.

Daredevil decided to use the time to think about what was going on and what they were going to do. So, he was sheltering a kid from child services. The kid's first name was Wally, but Matt didn't know a middle name nor a last name. The kid was (according to Foggy who wasn't always the best judge) a relatively young teenager and he was in his senior year of high school. The kid was blind, had super speed, and had heightened senses. Wally had a friend in New York who skipped on him. Wally wants to fight crime at night/whenever he gets the chance and he already has a superhero suit for it. The kid was on SHIELD's find list. Finally, the kid was living with Matt for the foreseeable future. How did he get himself into these messes?

He blamed this entire situation on how unbalanced he felt when the kid had said his name. It was weird for someone to know who one is underneath the mask even though they met once for a brief period of time. He also blamed this situation on that completely unreasonable feeling that he needed to protect the kid because the kid was just like him. Well, he wasn't just like Matt, but he was pretty close. And Matt didn't want this kid to become just as jaded as he is. He didn't want Wally to stop trusting people like Matt had. This was his chance to help someone the way he never was helped. Stick wasn't the kind of role model a kid needed in their lives and Matt wasn't the best either, but he would be, for this kid. He would do anything to help this kid become a hero and not a vigilante. He knew that it was pointless to try to dissuade the kid from the crime fighting life style and he'd just be a hypocrite if he did, so he'd just do his best to make it better for him.

Suddenly a voice called out from the other room, "Matt?" Wally's voice was a little rough and Matt remembered the sound of sobbing coming from his couch the night before. The poor teen was probably just as confused and out of place as he was.

"Yeah Wally," Matt called back before yawning.

Wally's voice was worried when he responded, "Did I wake you?" His voice was so concerned and… afraid almost and any reservations Matt had about taking Wally in melted away at the sound. He remembered Wally saying something about not being able to stand going back to the orphanages and he wondered about what Wally's life had been like before this point. He wondered if Wally had ever had the experience of adults in his life hurting him. Matt made a silent promise to himself to protect Wally to the best of his abilities.

He answered back as cheerfully as he could, "No, I woke up a couple of minutes ago. I've gotten more than enough sleep anyways. Do you want to have some breakfast? I can go whip something up and we can talk about how we're going to set up this whole living together thing."

When Wally answered, his voice was tense and still worried, "Are you still sure about letting me stay here?"

Matt called out, "Of course I am. I'm going to go start working on that breakfast. Um, do you need me to show you to the kitchen?"

"…yes." Wally replied hesitantly. It was obvious he was still doubting his place here. Matt figured that Wally was just as thrown off by last night's events as he was. This was new territory for everyone involved.

After a (large, very large) breakfast, the two were able to work out a plan. Wally had given Matt permission to tell Foggy everything Wally told Matt, saying something under his breath about know how awful it was to lie to friends. So Matt had called Foggy and explained the situation. Foggy had come over soon afterwards, making some remark about how he wasn't sure how two blind people living in the house together was going to work out after which he squeaked and made a comment about Wally having a terrifying glare despite having eyes. Foggy certainly had a way with words. Wally made a comment about wanting to change the color of his costume and Matt told him that he knew someone who'd be able to fix the suit up however he wanted. They went there and Wally told the man what he wanted as a new suit and the person started working on it immediately.

Then the three of them had gone shopping for furniture (Matt was there to regulate on prices, Wally was there to make sure it was comfortable, and Foggy was there to make sure at least one room in Matt's house had matching furniture) and had gotten a few more sets of clothes. They'd got Wally's new suit and then they'd gone home and Wally had listened to Foggy read out the instructions before assembling the furniture at super speed. Needless to say, Matt and Foggy had been greatly impressed. The three of them had just settled down on the couches, Wally significantly brighter and more cheerful than he'd been in the morning, when the two crime fighters heard it. Off in the distance there was the wailing of at least a dozen police cars. Ambulances and fire trucks could be heard following along with the sound of a crowd of people screaming in terror. Matt was able to pick up something about doombots from the hysterical voices of the crowd. Huh, guess the Fantastic Four had something to deal with. Wait, he shouldn't be able to hear it if it were in the Four's normal territory. Why were there doombots in Hell's Kitchen? That was not alright.

What could he do about it, though? How could he fight against Doctor Doom when he was just a low level vigilante? That kind of thing wasn't really his forte. But still, Doom thought he could just show up in Hell's Kitchen and make his mark. That was not alright. It had only taken moments for Matt to make the decision to fight, but Wally was already standing and striding across the room. Matt heard Foggy's intake of breath and he heard a bunch of whooshing. Matt's voice was sharp when he said, "What just happened?"

Wally's voice was smug when he answered, "I was just changing into my suit. You know, at super speed. Are you coming?"

"Yeah I'm coming. Slow down a second. Do you even know what you're up against?" Matt questioned.

"No clue." Wally responded breezily. Foggy made a choking noise.

Matt sighed and touched his fingertips to his forehead as he walked into his room to get some privacy to change. He spoke through the door, keeping his voice the same volume so as to not be too loud for Wally, "We're dealing with doombots. They're machines that are modeled after their creator, Doctor Doom. Basically, they have advanced AI programs and are heavily armored and can shoot lightning from their gauntlets, similar to what Doctor Doom can do. They can fly and self-destruct. I assume you haven't been around Hell's Kitchen enough for there to be a chance that you'll be in familiar territory." At Wally's affirmative sound, Matt sighed again and continued, "Doctor Doom and his bots are normally dealt with by the Fantastic Four but this time Doom's in Hell's Kitchen and that's my territory. The Fantastic Four will probably show up at some point. There's Invisible Woman who, you guessed it, turns invisible, then there's the Human Torch who, shocker, can set himself on fire. Then there's the Thing which is, well, he's basically made of rock and can lift a lot of heavy stuff. Finally, there's their leader, Mister Fantastic who can stretch his body really far. They deal with stuff out in space and they go up against their villains and other than that they just stay in the Baxter building and do science stuff. I'm not really sure what they do in there. Got any questions?"

"Are you done yet?" Wally practically whined.

Great. He's sarcastic. Daredevil stepped out and said, "Yes, I'm done. Follow me."

"Not fast enough." Wally stated before announcing, "Hold on tight." Then he grabbed Daredevil and the horned vigilante let out a small gasp (that he'd never admit to) and just barely got a purchase on Wally's shoulders before the kid was tearing up the stairs and leaping over buildings towards where the sounds of the battle were. Daredevil didn't know what to feel. This, this was terrifying and exhilarating all at once. He could feel the wind tearing at his skin and he was pretty sure he heard a sonic boom a little bit back. They were going that fast. The thought that he was going faster than cheetahs, race cars, airplanes gave him an adrenaline high that would be hard to come down from. The thought that if Wally let go he'd be less than a grease spot was sufficient to kill the adrenaline high. Was this how Wally felt all the time? Wally had mentioned how his brain worked as fast if not faster than his feet and how sometimes his very perception would speed up and the entire world would slow down around him and he wouldn't even notice.

Then, suddenly, Wally was skidding slightly to a stop and depositing Daredevil gently on the ground. They'd reached the fight.

JJJJJJ

The Fantastic Four were making their way to Hell's Kitchen where there were reports of doombots running rampant. Ben had been a little weary of stepping into Daredevil's territory, but after a subtle jab from Johnny about the Thing being too scared to deal with a little vigilante, no one had a problem about going to deal with their nemesis's metal minions. Johnny hoped that Spiderman would show up in the battle. He normally didn't leave his own little area, but Johnny always had a blast when Spidey was there to lighten the mood during battles. The web-slinger was the only one who truly appreciated Johnny's verbal awesomeness.

They finally made it to the doombot sighting and they stopped short in surprise. There were already two heroes fighting the machines. One of them Johnny recognized as Daredevil. He was smashing things with his billy clubs and flipping and twisting like a ninja. The other one, Johnny didn't recognize. He had a cowl covering most of his face, leaving unruly red hair sticking out the top and pale skin showing the bottoms of his cheekbones down. He had goggles pulled down over his eyes that seemed to be a completely opaque red. Over his ears were red circles with red lightning bolts sticking out of them. He had a skin tight suit with slight padding on the shoulders and elbows attached to his cowl. It showed off his muscles and ended in red gloves with small compartments on the arms and the legs. In the center of his chest was a white circle with a red lightning bolt sticking over the edges. His hips were accentuated by black lightning bolts. From there on were red skintight pants leading down to slick yellow running shoes. The best part: he was using super speed. How cool was that?

Johnny landed just to the side of the new person and realized that they weren't actually that tall. They actually looked pretty young. Sweet! That meant another person who should be as awesome as Spidey during battles. With one flaming fist, Johnny punched a doombot and commented idly, "Hey there, I'm the Human Torch, dressed to impress. Sup?"

"Ah nothing much, taking names and kicking butt. You know, no biggie. Nice to meet you Human Torch. Doombot on your six." The stranger replied, zipping around him and taking out the doombot that was about to sneak up on Johnny.

Johnny just grinned and hovered slightly in the air, lobbing globes of fire at the machines as he continued to talk, "Thanks. So, do I get a name or do I have to wait until dinner?"

The new dude laughed (actually laughed) and said, "Depends on where you're taking me. Actually, hold that thought for a second. Can you get your team out of the way? I've got an idea to take out the rest of the bots that I could use your help with. I just need people out of the way." The dude explained his idea and Johnny grinned. He liked the sound of that.

The dude ran to talk to Daredevil (apparently they were working together or something which was super weird since Daredevil doesn't work with anybody) and Johnny accessed his comms, "Hey guys, the speedy dude and I've got something that'll get rid of the bots, but you guys need to get back. Trust me on this." He added that last statement before Susan could protest.

There was a pause before Reed capitulated, "Alright, but be careful."

"Got it." Johnny responded before turning back to the new guy who had sped back over to where Johnny had touched down.

He paused for a second before saying, "That's everyone out of the way. Wanna get started?"

"The faster we get this over with, the faster I get that promised dinner." Johnny said with a winning smile. He was actually being serious, but he wouldn't do it for any romantic reasons. He'd take this dude to dinner even in their costumes just to get to know him more. He couldn't wait until the two of them and Spidey ended up in a battle together. It would be epic on so many levels. That's when he noticed that the new guy had delivered on his part of the plan. Johnny had been skeptic about the dude's abilities, but now he was blown away.

The speedy dude had corralled all of the doombots into a smallish area of the street and had been running circles around them to the point that a small tornado had formed around them. That… was amazing! Johnny flamed up and shot several globes of fire at the tornado and watched as it turned into a flaming whirlwind. The new guy ran in tighter and tighter circles to the point that the doombots were being either smashed together or melted. Johnny had thrown some of his hottest fire at the tornado. Soon, there were no doombots left and the stranger stopped running around the tornado, choosing instead to run the opposite direction effectively unraveling the tornado. So cool! He was definitely going to become best friends with this guy.

Finally, the new guy was left standing in the middle of the street with all the doombots left as melted goop. Johnny was about to fly back down next to the guy and congratulate him when a reporter practically flew to where they were standing and stuck a microphone in the guy's face. She asked quickly, "I've never seen you before, so you must be a new hero! What can we call you?"

"You can call me Kid Flash." The new guy, Kid Flash apparently, announced happily. He smiled brightly at the reported and said, "I'm your new, willing to serve, speedster!" Speedster. Huh, that was a pretty good term for Kid Flash.

Another reporter shoved a microphone in his face and asked excitedly, "How fast can you run, Kid Flash?"

"You know, I'm not entirely certain. Faster than the speed of sound, that's for sure." Kid Flash answered with another blinding smile and Johnny was pretty sure he saw someone swoon.

Then Reed's voice sounded near where Johnny was hovering, "Faster than the speed of sound. How is that possible? How do his powers work?" Johnny landed next to them and saw Daredevil skulking around behind them, apparently not wanting to leave his ally behind. Of course Reed would be wondering about the science behind it.

Then one of the more obnoxious reporters stuck their nose in, questioning loudly, "Are you a mutant?" Everyone else fell silent, waiting for an answer. Johnny was confused. Of course he was a mutant. How else would he have his powers? Then again, Johnny really shouldn't be talking.

Kid Flash just crinkled his nose and tilted his head to the side before saying hesitantly, "Nope."

The same rude reporter sneered, "Are you sure?"

"Pretty, yeah. Hey, so it's been great talking with you guys, but I've gotta go. If you need me, just make sure it's on TV or something and I'll be there in a flash." He gave the impression of winking at the reporters beneath the practically opaque goggles before zooming off to the sounds of reporters trying to cover giggles.

Kid Flash ended up skidding to a stop where the Fantastic Four were gathered and the group of five moved back into the alleyway where Daredevil was currently trying to meld with the shadows. It wasn't working too well with his red costume. Kid Flash smiled at the Fantastic Four before formally announcing, "Hi, I'm Kid Flash, it's a pleasure to meet you guys. You were great to work with and I hope we can do it again." He seemed so innocent and ready to trust them. It made Johnny want to scoop him up and protect him from the world which was not a feeling that he was used to experiencing.

Apparently Sue thought the same thing because her face lit up in that motherly smile that always made Johnny want to run the opposite direction and she announced cheerfully, "It was great fighting with you too. We were really impressed with that tornado idea you had. You should come over for dinner at the Baxter building sometime. If you ever need anything, just call, here's my number. Don't be a stranger. Call us if you need help during a battle or if you just want someone to talk to, alright?" Kid Flash's expression morphed into one of shock and Johnny couldn't hold in his snicker. That was the exact same reaction Spiderman had had when Johnny's sister did the same thing to him.

Kid Flash ended up saying, "Okay, I'll do that then. Hey, by the way, do any of you know what a mutant is and why those reporters wanted to know if I was one?" Everyone froze the way they did when the question had been originally asked.

Ben awkwardly laughed, "Do you really not know, or are you just messing with us?"

"Uh… no… I really don't know. Should I?" A note of worry had crept into Kid Flash's voice.

It was Daredevil who ended up answering, "Mutants are people who have genetic mutations happen that give them special abilities. There's a team of them called the X-men that are another superhero group. They have a school for mutants somewhere. There's been a lot of scandal surrounding the mutants recently."

"Huh," Kid Flash said, "So, like, anyone can become a mutant by having a certain gene activated by something or another, or do they, like, need something foreign spliced into their genes to get that result?"

Reed answered happily, "There's a gene found in mutants called the mutant gene and when that activates they get their powers. There's not much known about them." Great, Johnny groaned, he was already losing his potential new friend to science. What was it with superheroes being science fans? It was obvious that Kid Flash loved science from the way his actions became more animated when it was mentioned.

Daredevil announced suddenly, "We should get going… Kid Flash. Where did you pull that name out of anyways?"

"My pseudo uncles used to call me that when they found out about my super speed." Kid Flash smiled. Huh, apparently he was really new to the hero game if he hadn't even had a name.

Sue's voice was amused when she asked, "Pseudo uncles?"

"Yeah, they were the friends of a good friend of my dad's. I basically called all of my parent's good friends aunt and uncle because my parents don't have any actual siblings." Kid Flash answered.

Daredevil pushed, "We really should get back."

"Oh, right, see you around!" Kid Flash called before zipping over to Daredevil.

Daredevil stepped out of range as fast as he could and snapped, "Not that way. I think I've had enough of being carried at super speed for a life time. I don't need to repeat that experience. Besides, you need to get used to the layout of the city. Let's go without the speed."

Kid Flash grumbled back at him, "From the way you were pushing at me to get going I'd assumed you wanted to get back to where we started as fast as possible."

"Do you even know how to get back to where we started?" Daredevil's weary voice responded.

There was a pause and then a mumbled, "No." The Fantastic Four just laughed. The new kid on the block was going to attract a lot of attention and was going to kick super villain butt. Watch out New York, here comes Kid Flash.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School normally sucks, but Wally has Peter. And super villains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know where they think Midtown High School is located in New York, but I assumed it was somewhere in Queens and I looked on a map and Queens and Hell's Kitchen aren't that far apart. I know I'm stretching the fact that Wally goes to Midtown, but whatever.

WWWWWW

It had been ten days since Wally was taken in by Matt. They hadn't had any more big fights, but Daredevil and Kid Flash had been seen protecting Hell's Kitchen together. According to the news reports, this partnership was one of the most unlikely things the reporters could think of. Apparently Daredevil had some sort of 'no heroes but myself in Hell's Kitchen' thing going on and it kind of reminded Wally of Bruce. Well, it didn't really matter either way. The two of them had searched for a good school that was prepared to handle blind students and Midtown High School in Queens seemed to be the best option. It was a pretty good distance away, but they agreed that since Wally had super speed it shouldn't be that hard.

They spent the days between picking a school and school starting memorizing the layout of Hell's Kitchen and the path to Midtown High School. With Wally's general level of intelligence (totally not bragging) and the amount of times he'd done this before, it didn't take long for him to get everything pretty memorized to the point that he could get wherever he needed to go without having to pause and get directions from Matt. Sometimes he had a hard time getting back to the apartment because they had heard a scream and run from wherever else they had been and he got a little mixed up, but that had happened in Gotham and Central and every other city he'd memorized the layout of.

Today, however, was the first day of his senior year of high school (at least, this time around) and he was nervous. Matt had fussed over him and made sure that Wally had all the supplies in his backpack and all the directions memorized. Then Wally heard Matt bite his lip before the man said, "Maybe we should send you to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."

"Maybe you should send me where?" Wally asked. What kind of a school was that?

"It's the school where teenage mutants go where they learn to control their powers and they still learn the things they need to know. They accept people at any time of the year and you'd be around other kids with gifts like yours. You wouldn't have to worry about bullying or anything and even though it's in a different state, you'd still be able to run back here whenever." Matt answered.

Wally's eyebrow crept higher and higher on his face as he listened to Matt talk, his arms crossing and his backpack slung over his shoulder. When Matt finished, Wally said, "Seriously, Matt? I'll be fine. It's only for a year and I've never needed to go to a school for people like me before. And anyways, they wouldn't be like me. I'm. Not. A. Mutant." They'd actually had an argument like that earlier where Matt had called him a mutant and Wally had vehemently denied that fact. From what he'd been able to dig up about mutants, they were similar to metahumans but not the same. He also found out that there weren't anything called metahumans here but there was something called 'gifted' (he'd gotten that off of the bug he'd placed in the SHIELD facility he'd been taken to; it'd been quickly discovered and he made it self destruct) seemed to be the equivalent of metahumans. Either way, he was not a mutant and was actually quite proud of his metahuman status (that is, after his family convinced him that it was a good thing and that it didn't make him a monster).

Matt sighed and said, "I know you're not a mutant. I still don't understand how you've never heard of them, but I understand that you are not one. I don't know how you're so certain, but I'll assume it was the way that you got your powers. You know, that way that you refuse to tell me." Wally nodded. He would never tell another soul how he got his super speed because he didn't want anyone trying to recreate the circumstances. First of all, he didn't know exactly what chemicals he all fell into. Second of all, if a villain were to find out how to get the powers; well, he didn't want a Professor Zoom in this dimension. Finally, he would never submit anyone to the loneliness of a speedster. He loved being a speedster; he really did. It was just that it was hard to really connect with non-speedsters. They just didn't see (or sense) the world the same way and it was almost like speedsters were on their own little world racing too fast for the rest of the world. Now he was stuck in this dimension as the only speedster and he didn't want anyone else to feel like that if (when, hopefully) he returned home.

Wally lightly diffused the situation, "If you keep trying to convince me to go to other schools, I'll be late for my first day of this school."

The older hero chuckled softly and sighed, "Alright, well, have fun. Tell me if you don't like anything about the school and we'll find you somewhere new."

If his eyes still worked, Wally would have rolled them, "If you're quite done mother-henning me, I'll be making my exit. I'll see you after school Matt!"

"No you won't. Remember to change into your suit and head to the Baxter building. You're having dinner with the Fantastic Four, remember? I swear you've completely ruined my image as the terrifying Devil of Hell's Kitchen with your friendliness with everyone else. See you for patrol Wally." Matt responded laughingly. Wally threw him a thanks and headed out.

PPPPPP

Peter was already so done with the school day and it was only lunch. It was the first day back from summer vacation and Gwen was home sick that day and he couldn't convince Aunt May that it was his duty as a boyfriend to stay at Gwen's house and take care of her. Stone was being especially pushy (literal pushing into lockers pushy) and Peter's head was practically ringing from all the times he'd ended up with it stuffed into a locker somewhere. Stone hadn't been as bad as he used to be after the whole Uncle Ben dying thing and he'd even paused to enthuse about Spiderman to Peter, convinced that Peter needed to 'see the light' and 'support their neighborhood hero'. Peter had a hard time not laughing during those spiels.

Dejected, Peter headed to his usual lonely corner of the lunchroom and sat down, his bag dragging. He wished summer would come back. Scarfing down his food, Peter decided that he was going to go chill in the science room for the remainder of lunch once he'd finished eating. His teacher was normally in there and was pretty cool with him playing around with chemicals and stuff in his room. It was a nice deal and a good plan for lunch. That is, until someone completely ruined his plan.

Somebody stopped hesitantly near his table and said, "Is there an open seat here?"

He was about to answer sarcastically that there obviously were several open seats (Peter being the only one sitting at the table), but he luckily looked up first. The guy was blind. Peter inwardly winced and said, "Yeah, there's a couple. You don't have any friends to sit with?" He watched while the guy sat his lunch box down carefully before feeling for a chair and finally sitting. The guy seemed to be a year younger than Peter with red locks that looked like they'd be impossible to manage (it didn't seem like the guy even tried) and pale skin with freckles peaking out from under his dark glasses. He had an intricate cane leaning on the chair next to him and he had clothes that obviously weren't particularly expensive (probably from a thrift store, actually).

Peter noticed the flash of pain that settled on the guy's face for the briefest second before it was gone and the guy smiled in his general direction, "Nah. This is my first day at this school. I was at a different high school in Kansas in my other years of high school. My guide apparently didn't want me to sit with him and the people at other tables said that they were full, so I just kept moving down until I found an empty table. Thanks for letting me sit with you by the way. My name's Wally. What's yours?"

"Uh, no problem. My name's Peter. How can you tell where I am?" Peter's eyes widened and he backtracked, "Um, I mean, you don't have to tell me. I didn't mean to offend you or anything."

But then the guy, Wally, laughed, bright and carefree and answered cheerfully, "It's no big deal. My glasses have an echolocation device built into them. I just move around until I hear echoes indicating that there's something nearby that's the right size and high enough up to be a person and I just hope that I got it right." He ended with a cheeky grin and Peter couldn't help but give a responding laugh. Maybe having his science time interrupted by this guy wasn't so bad. Then he thought about what he said earlier. Wally said that his other years of high school were spent in Kansas. He looked fourteen which would make him a freshman. Either he skipped a grade here or there, or he had a baby face. Peter paused; or both. Anyways, that was pretty cool. But then again, he should have been able to hear the clicking. Enhanced spider senses and all that. He tilted his head and focused his listening in around Wally. Huh, he could kind of hear some clicking noises, but they were going so fast that they were practically blurring together. That couldn't be right. Weird.

Realizing that he should be paying more attention to the conversation, he saw Wally pull food out of his lunch box and was mildly horrified. The meal itself was eclectic with foods ranging from meatloaf to cookies to gyros, but that wasn't the weird part. The horrifying part was the sheer amount of it. Peter wasn't even sure how Wally got that all to fit in his lunch. He knew that teenage boys gotta eat, but even Peter didn't eat that much (although it was close) and he had an increased metabolism. He sputtered out, "Dude, how do your parents pay for all that food?"

Wally laughed and said, "I know right? My, uh… dad works runs a law firm in Hell's Kitchen with his buddy but the people they normally represent don't really have enough money to pay them in, well, money, so they end up giving them a lot of food or knick knacks."

"Does he have to drive far to get to his work?" Peter didn't comment on the way Wally stuttered over the word dad, choosing instead to be surprised at the location of his father's work.

"It's actually within walking distance of where we live. The only reason I come to school here is because of how good their blind student program is." Wally answered easily.

Dang, Peter thought. He voiced, "So he has to drive you here and then drive back to Hell's Kitchen in time to get to work? That seems crazy."

"Ah, actually," Wally winced and paused before continuing, "I come here by myself through public transit. My, uh, dad's blind too. He's memorized the path to his work place and just walks there and the two of us memorized the path to buses and stuff and to school so I can get here by myself."

"That's crazy!" Peter exclaimed. Yeah he walked to the grocery store and stuff and if he had to go in early or stay late at school he'd walk, but if he had to go the distance Wally did, Aunt May would have a heart attack. She'd be super worried about him the entire time he was supposed to be walking to school.

Wally just chuckled nervously and said, "Yeah it is."

Then Peter realized that Wally had said that his dad was blind too and he asked curiously, "So is blindness hereditary in the family?" He paused and then exclaimed quickly, "I'm sorry! That was rude!" If only Gwen was here. She'd be able to stop him before he kept putting his foot in his mouth.

Wally's lips curved up into a smile and he laughed, "It's no problem. You can ask me anything about my blindness and I won't care. It doesn't really bother me. And nah, it doesn't run in the family. We just both happened to have accidents that caused it. What are the odds of that, huh?"

"Yeah, that's pretty weird." Peter mused. The two of them sat in amiable silence for a little bit until their lunch was interrupted by Flash and goons. Hey, that'd be a kind of cool name for a band or something.

Flash sat down heavily between Wally and Peter and his goons filled in the other seats. Flash leaned towards Wally and the blind teen leaned away slightly. Peter couldn't blame him; even without the jock leaning at him, his nose was still bleeding from the smell. Then Flash looped an arm around Peter's neck and pulled him forward, eliciting a strangled yelp from said teenaged superhero. Flash grinned, "So, new kid. You a Spiderman fan?"

"Um, not sure. I don't know much about him. All I really know is that he says something like he's your friendly neighborhood Spiderman or something? Who are you, by the way?" Wally practically squeaked and Peter winced in sympathy.

The jock king of the school gasped dramatically and said, "I'm Flash!" Peter noticed Wally flinch at the name before tilting his head and seemingly attempt to hold in laughter before Flash continued, "How do you not know much about him? He's all over and he's in all the papers! Right Pete?" 'Pete'? Since when did Flash call him Pete?

Then Flash was practically choking him in a 'friendly jostle' to get his attention. Peter nodded emphatically and, realizing that Wally wouldn't be able to see it, said, "Right."

Wally shrugged and said, "I'm from Hell's Kitchen. I'm more of a Daredevil fan personally. There's this new hero called Kid Flash too that's pretty cool."

"Kid Flash is just a lame sidekick and Daredevil doesn't have any powers. He just beats people up plain and simple. Spidey though? He's awesome. He can shoot webs out of his wrists and he uses them to swing around the city and he can stick to walls and ceilings and stuff and he's like a ninja or something. It's amazing! Not to mention he's worked with some of the bigger heroes like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four." Flash pressed.

The blind kid retorted, "Kid Flash just fought with the Fantastic Four the other day. Him and Human Torch worked together to make a tornado of fire according to the reports. Bet Spiderman can't do that."

Peter felt he had to defend himself a little bit and responded, "Yeah, but that was a onetime thing. And besides, Spiderman doesn't need to work with anyone like Kid Flash needs to work with Daredevil." The grin Flash gave him (along with the incredibly painful noogie) made Peter slightly worried until he realized that him sticking up for Spiderman probably just got him on Flash's good side for the first time ever.

Wally shrugged and said, "I'll give you that I guess. Once I hear a little bit more about Spiderman and spend a little bit more time here maybe I'll like him more." Flash looked like he was about to launch into a Spiderman lecture and Peter barely held back a groan. But then they were saved by the wall crashing to the ground as Rhino and Electro teamed up to take down the school. Why they decided this would be a good target was beyond Peter's logic skills, but whatever. As long as he got out of Flash's droning.

Students started screaming and running for the exit. Peter tried to blend into the background and look like he was running away when he was looking for an opening to get into the small door near where he was in the cafeteria. It led to a small alcove outside. He just needed to get in there and take off his outer layers (good thing about wearing his Spiderman suit under his regular clothes) and put his mask and on then climb up the wall and go through the same hole in the wall that Rhino and Electro took as their entrance. The only problem, though, is that Wally was still hanging around. Peter ran up to him and yelled over the noise of panicked high school students, "You need to get out of here! Why are you just standing there?"

"I don't know what's happening and you weren't coming and I was worried! What are you doing? Let's go!" Wally shouted back. Peter froze a little. Wally had waited in a room with two super villains to make sure that Peter, a guy he'd met that same day, got out safely. Peter had to admit that it was pretty heroic, but the blind kid didn't need to be heroic when Peter already had that covered. Then he realized that this might not be all because Wally was trying to be heroic. Peter remembered Wally saying something about a guide and realized that the teen probably didn't know how to get out of the cafeteria without him. The only problem was that Peter wouldn't get a chance to change into his suit if he was where all the students were supposed to go. He couldn't just leave this kid to aimlessly wander around though! Wally might die or something!

Peter growled low in his throat and started dragging Wally towards the aforementioned alcove. Why did he have to make friends with a blind kid just in time for super villains to attack? Why was this his life? Feeling like Wally would be safe there, Peter parked him behind a large trash can and said, "I have to go but you should be safe here. There are super villains attacking the school right now."

"Where are you going? You're going to get hurt!" Wally hissed, his head turning towards where the sounds of two angry super villains were emanating.

Peter answered quickly, "I left something in there! I'll be fine, I swear! Just stay here until someone finds you." And then he quickly changed, knowing that Wally wouldn't be able to hear him. Luckily spotting a large hole in the alcove walls (it must have been formed from the flying remnants of the cafeteria wall); he ran out and swung onto the scene of the battle, resplendent in his Spiderman gear. He landed in a crouch behind Electro and smirked beneath his mask, "You guys miss me?"

Rhino turned around and charged at Spiderman who simply jumped up at the right time and powerfully pushed over the Rhino's head, causing the man to plummet into the ground. He continued to keep track of Rhino's position while he went to face off against Electro. Before either of them could get a good shot in, someone zoomed into the room at an incredible speed. Spiderman's eyes widened beneath his mask as he recognized the person Johnny had been telling him about. Standing in the middle of his school cafeteria was Kid Flash. How cool was that? Kid Flash called up to Spiderman, "How bout I keep rhino brain here busy while you deal with the light bulb over there?"

Spiderman grinned and said, "I thought you'd never ask." Now that he didn't have to worry about Rhino coming after him (at least, he hoped that Kid Flash would be able to keep the villain occupied), he could focus more intently on his current battle against Electro. Grinning, Spiderman shot out a web and then another and then a third, flipping out of the way of a stray arc of electricity. Spiderman continued to shoot out quips at Electro as he slowly but surely wore the man down and wrestled him into submission. He'd heard Kid Flash sending out insults and jokes to Rhino from behind him and had to stop himself from laughing at a couple of them.

When he turned around, Rhino was unconscious on the ground and Kid Flash was giving him a small salute, "Gotta go. You know how being a superhero during the day is. Sneaking off, trying to avoid getting in trouble for disappearing in the middle of the day and all that. Hopefully I'll talk to you more next time. See you Spiderman!" And then Kid Flash was speeding off. He sounded kind of familiar, Peter mused as he watched the superhero take a sharp turn when he passed the enclosing walls of the alcove.

The alcove! Wally was still in there! All thoughts of potential familiarity washed out of his mind as Peter raced out of the cafeteria and took his mask off grabbing his backpack and pulling on some of his normal clothes and stumbling into the alcove. He found Wally right where he'd left him. The teen turned at the sound of Peter tripping over something and called out, "Peter? Is that you? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's me. I'm fine. Sorry to run off on you like that. We should just stay here until the threat is taken care of and someone comes to get us." Peter said and Wally nodded. The two sat and talked quietly of this and that until a teacher finally came to get them, having noticed that they were gone. Peter had to give the excuse that they were in the back of the cafeteria and by the time the other students got out of the way of the doors, they'd have caught the villains' eyes and the only option he could think of at the time was to go into that small alcove. He was actually praised for his foresight which was a first. They were all sent home after that and Peter waved goodbye to Wally, hoping that whenever school started back up again he'd see more of the blind teen. He was fun to hang around with. Peter also hoped he'd get to hang out with the Kid Flash more too.

WWWWWW

Wally wandered around with no real destination in mind. He wasn't really expected to be anywhere right at that moment. He was still riding on an adrenaline not from the fight but from trying to get back to the place Peter had left him. He had left by the same hole Peter had and ran a little distance away to change into his suit before running further back and zipping into the school cafeteria from afar. And who'd have guessed that Peter was Spiderman? Well, his heart was faster that a normal human's (like Captain America or Superman or Superboy) which was Wally's first hint and there were a couple other little hints (the smell of spandex being the largest) that Wally missed. Batman would be ashamed. Anyways, Wally had barely managed to race around the alcove and then vibrate through the wall to get back into it, quickly speeding out of his suit before settling down where he was left and brushing some fingers through his hair first so it didn't look like he'd just been running at super speed.

Deciding that it was late enough, Wally ran into an alley and changed into his superhero suit before running at high speed towards where he memorized the Baxter building being. It should be late enough for him to realistically show up there. They had refused to let everyone leave until they'd been seen by the medics and proclaimed free to go and they'd gone alphabetically. Meaning that Wally (currently going by the name Wally Murdock even though his 'real' name in this dimension was Wally Wayne; all these names were getting confusing) had to wait forever for his name to be called. Peter had taken even longer and Wally had waved goodbye to the teen as he left. Anyways, after the little bit of time spent wandering around, it was practically the same time school would have gotten out anyways.

Zipping up to through the door, he zoomed into the elevator and pressed the buttons that Sue had told him to press (thank the gods that elevators had Braille numbers as well) and waiting impatiently for the lift to get him to the right floor. He finally made it and walked into the room. He cleared his throat nervously and called out, "Fantastic Four?"

Ben's (aka the Thing's) gruff voice called out from another room, "In here Kid."

Kid Flash followed the sound of Ben's voice and ended up what felt like the Four's kitchen. He narrowly avoided colliding with Sue who ignored the interaction, choosing instead to yell out, "Reed! Dinner!" She turned (probably to face Ben) and said, "If he's not here in four minutes, drag him down here please."

"Sure." Ben replied disinterestedly.

Johnny called out from his place further in the kitchen, "That's Reed for you. He's always buried in some science project or another."

"Oh, what's he working on right now?" Kid Flash asked interestedly. He always loved hearing passionate people talk about science. He could connect with them.

Reed's voice came from behind him, "Well, you see-,"

He was cut off by Sue bustling everyone towards what seemed to be a table and saying, "No science talk at the table when there're guests. Sit here Kid Flash. Yes, thank you. And thank you so much for coming!"

Wally answered bemusedly, "Thank you for inviting me."

The dinner continued in much the same manner and Wally couldn't help himself from smiling as he interacted with the group and ate a really good dinner. He was reminded vividly of dinners at the Wayne manor when everyone was home or team meals at the Cave and, for once, reminders of his dimension weren't accompanied by pangs in his heart and tears filling his useless eyes. For once, he was content in the knowledge that for however long he was here, he'd still be happy and taken care of. He had the Fantastic Four and he had Matt and Foggy. He'd be alright.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Gwen are adorable. Super villains are not. SHIELD's makes an appearance too.

PPPPPP

Peter was kind of nervous, which was stupid. He was introducing Gwen and Wally today and he just really hoped that they liked each other. In the six school days that Gwen had been sick, Wally and Peter had quickly become great friends and they spent their lunches together every day and Wally was even planning on coming over to Peter's house that afternoon (just another thing to be worried about). Now, however, Gwen was back from being sick and she had heard all about Peter's new friend and was more than excited to meet him and Peter just really hoped that they got along. That's all he was asking for.

So when Peter and Gwen sat down at his not as lonely as before table, he was kind of glad to see that Wally wasn't there yet. Ever since Wally had stopped having a guide show him around, he'd been arriving to places a little later than before. Apparently he 'knew where everything was, he just had to take the time to remember'. His words exactly. Peter had laughed at him after that and Wally had just pouted. As the couple sat down to start eating their lunch, Peter thought silently about what he'd learned about Wally in the past couple of days. The kid was fourteen but was somehow in his senior year (so not fair) and apparently his dad's name was Matt and he wasn't really his dad but he was at the same time. Peter wasn't entirely certain about the details on Wally's whole parent situation because he was never clear about who Matt was to him and he never said what happened to his mother. Wally was an avid Kid Flash fan and loved to draw (Peter only found that out because he'd been digging through Wally's things one day and found a sketch book that seemed to be filled with superheroes; Peter said he'd pen in what the heroes said and Wally could draw and they'd make a fortune selling comic books) even though Peter wasn't entirely certain how Wally knew what he was drawing. The red head also ate a lot and seemed perpetually amused about the world at large while also seeming to be sad and lonely.

The teenaged hero was distracted by Wally sitting down next to him and saying, "Hey Peter, sorry I'm late. Mrs. Parkinson wanted me to-. Oh, um, who's that?"

Oh yeah, the echolocation device built into Wally's glasses. He'd forgotten. Peter smiled and cleared his throat before saying, "This is Gwen, my girlfriend. Gwen, this is the friend I told you about, Wally."

Gwen started talking excitedly almost as soon as he'd finished the introductions, "It's a pleasure to meet you! I heard about the echolocation device in your glasses and I think that's the coolest thing. I also heard that you like science. Peter and I are kind of big science nerds."

"I'm a geek, you're a nerd." Peter refuted.

Gwen just rolled her eyes and continued, "Anyways, I think it's cool that you like science. I also think it's cool that you're already in twelfth grade. That takes a lot of dedication and time. I'm sure colleges will love you. You know, you should come to my work place sometime soon. I work at Oscorp and it's a great science place. Of course, Stark Industries is better, but I don't want to leave Oscorp just because a better opportunity came around. Peter, however, should totally apply for an internship there because he'd do great and they'd love him and he's not already tied to Oscorp." Peter realized that Gwen was rambling and he knew that she rambled when she was nervous. He grabbed her hand under the table and squeezed it gently.

Wally smiled in their direction and said, "Nice to meet you too. I'm definitely a science nerd and I'm proud. How come you don't try out for Stark Industries, Peter?" Oh great, now he had two people on his case about it. Next thing he knew Aunt May would know and would be pestering him to join.

There were a lot of perfectly good reasons for him to not join. He would be way too close to the Avengers and that meant that he could risk SHIELD discovering his secret identity and he didn't want that. And then there was the fact that he would have to walk/skate through a dangerous part of town to get there and he didn't want to worry Aunt May. He settled with saying, "I don't think they'll take me and then it'd just be a waste of time."

"Come on, Peter. They'll love you!" Gwen smiled encouragingly.

Wally added on, "You never know until you try."

Peter rolled his eyes, "Alright, alright. I'll sign up for an interview. Wally will make sure I do it tonight. There, are you two happy now?" The two laughed and Peter's worries were swept away. He should have known they'd get along great. Then Peter asked, "So what do you guys think about that whole SHIELD talking to the top science students thing? I'm assuming that you were invited."

Gwen nodded that she was and Wally said, "Yeah, I was invited. Maybe they want to talk to us about how science can change the world or something like that. That's what most guest speakers go on about from my experience." Gwen nodded her agreement and Peter made a noise of acknowledgement. He was pretty sure that they didn't know who he was and that they weren't here for that. If they knew, they'd take a more subtle approach, right? So, this had to be something legitimate. Kind of. They'd told the people invited to not tell anyone else about the meeting and the whole agency was supposed to be a pretty well kept secret. Peter didn't know what decided them to have a meeting with a bunch of teenagers from a random high school and it worried him that he didn't know.

WWWWWW

It turned out that Wally didn't have to worry. The moment he'd gotten the letter (helpfully delivered to his doorstep and written in Braille), he'd been worrying about this meeting with SHIELD. Even though he wasn't supposed to tell anyone else about it, he'd told Matt right away because the man knew more about the agency than he did and he felt like he should trust Matt with this because it was weighing down on him that he still hadn't told Matt that he came from a different dimension. There were just some things that one doesn't tell someone only sixteen days after one meets them. And that was the crazy part. It really had been just over two weeks that he's been in this dimension. He was no closer to finding a way back to his home dimension and he still had yet to entrust anyone with that knowledge. So far, Matt was the one that knew the most about him.

Anyways, the SHIELD meeting had gone better than he'd hoped. Peter, Wally, and Gwen had walked into the gymnasium together. Wally had heard thirty seven heartbeats in the bleachers and another seven on the stage thing (at least, he assumed by the elevated status of the people that it was a stage). So, that meant that there were forty students and seven 'presenters'. The first thing that the men on stage did was introduce themselves (probably fake names) and give a little bit of information about the SHIELD agency (probably things that were pretty easy to dig up). Then they explained the reason for this meeting. SHIELD wanted one of Midtown High School's best and brightest students to intern at a SHIELD facility in one of the science departments. Their explanation ended there. The agents went on to say that anyone who was not interested may leave now. About half the people left, including a reluctant Peter (who was determined to make good on his promise of trying out for the Stark Industries internship but who also wanted this chance in case he didn't make it into the Stark one) and an exasperated Gwen (who once again cited her loyalty to Oscorp and bemoaned over missing class for such a waste of time).

Once those who weren't interested were left, the seventeen remaining students were asked to take a test. It was supposed to tell the SHIELD agents which student was the best candidate. It was fill in the blank and included questions about science to questions about morality. Wally had gotten out his Perkins Braillewriter and had started putting his answers down. He needed this internship. It was the chance he'd been waiting for. SHIELD was the only place he could think of that would potentially have the resources to research into getting home. Of course, getting a job there would increase the possibility of his fake identity being discovered (he just really had to hope that they didn't have good enough hackers/researchers to outdo his Bat training) and it would also increase the possibility of his nighttime job as Kid Flash being discovered. It would make it harder for him to concentrate on school work and his crime fighting career and he'd have a hard time getting out of the building in case of an emergency, but it should all be worth it if it gets him home again. So, he took the test and hoped that he answered them how they would have wanted him to answer them and then he left after being assured that they would inform him if he was the one they chose. By that time, it was the end of the day (it was a long test and he'd gone over it several times; not to mention that the meeting had started towards the end of the school day anyways) and Wally waited out front for Peter to meet up with him before the two of them went to Peter's house.

Wally distracted himself from thoughts of SHIELD by amusing himself with Peter's racing heartbeat. He was almost as nervous as he was when he was introducing Gwen! There was no reason for him to get so worked up about it, but since Wally shouldn't be able to tell that he was nervous, he couldn't make fun of him for it. What a bother.

They quickly made it to Forest Hills where Peter lived and they walked in the front door, Peter calling out, "Aunt May! I'm home!"

Wally heard someone bustle out from somewhere else (the scents surrounding her made him think she had been in the laundry room, but she might have recently relocated to another room so really she could have come from anywhere on the first floor) and quickly deduced that it was the person Peter called Aunt May. Wally didn't know what had happened to Peter's parents or his uncle. All he knew was that they were dead and it was just him and his Aunt May at that point. It hurt Wally that he couldn't just tell the person he was quickly coming to see as his best friend in this dimension about his past and how his biological father was dead and how he didn't know if he'd ever see his family again. But he couldn't. He didn't know if he could trust anyone yet and that was quickly weighing down on his soul, making it hard for him to concentrate. The only people he knew in this dimension, he'd been in contact with for sixteen days. Sixteen days. He didn't exist here until sixteen days ago. And that was hard.

The teenage superhero was torn from his thoughts when Peter said, "Aunt May, this is Wally. Wally, this is my Aunt May."

"You can go ahead and call me Aunt May, sweetie. I'm so happy that Peter's bringing a friend home. The only person he ever brings home is his girlfriend Gwen and I worry about my poor little boy. It's good to know that he had friends." The woman responded, reminding Wally vividly of Johnny's sister. Weird.

Peter groaned, "Aunt May. You're embarrassing me!"

Wally laughed and said, "It's nice to meet you, uh, Aunt May. I'm glad that I could ease your worry." He announced formally. He heard the blood rush to Aunt May's cheeks as she blushed and he inwardly smirked. He could practically feel Peter's horrified glance. It wasn't like he was wooing her or anything (the only girl he's going to woo was Artemis); he just felt the need to be as charming as possible. Charming is good when you're trying to make a good impression. And so he was charming. And it was apparently working. Tricks like this always got him cookies when he went to other people's houses. He was hoping the same would go for here.

Peter ended up separating the two of them and ushering Wally up into his room. The only impression he really got was that the room was pretty cluttered, but then again, what teenage boy's wasn't (Wally notwithstanding because if he just put things down wherever, he wouldn't be able to find them again, so he had to put everything back where he found it)? Wally felt like Peter was waiting for a response so he said awkwardly, "Nice, uh, room you got here."

He could feel eyes on him as Peter probably gave him a strange look and he shrugged to himself. He was just trying to be nice. Not his fault if he sounded weird because of it. He'd stick by his actions no matter what. Eventually, Peter snorted and said, "Alright, so I'm going to go sign up for that Stark Industries thing because otherwise Gwen will kill me."

Wally grinned, "She's really got you whipped, huh?"

"You've met her!" Peter defended, "How can she not have me whipped? Besides, you can't tell me you've never been with a girl that didn't have whipped. It's, like, women's super power or something. Hey, speaking of, you got a girlfriend?"

A painful lump lodged itself in his throat and he found himself settling onto the bed so he wouldn't fall. That was the one person he'd been avoiding thinking about since he got here because he didn't think he would survive thinking about her. She was… she was his everything and now there was a chance that he'd never be with her again. He hadn't even given her a proper goodbye! Peter must have noticed the desperate expression that had worked its way onto Wally's features and taken hold because he commented softly, "I didn't mean to upset you dude. You don't have to say anything, okay?"

"No," Wally said, surprising even himself. He hadn't talked to anyone about his past friends and family before now and he wasn't sure what gave him the urge, but maybe he was just sick of lying to the people around him. Maybe he wanted to tell someone something about his past and Peter just happened to be the one who was there when he cracked or maybe he'd subconsciously held on until he felt comfortable around Peter to tell him. Either way, he'd opened a dam now and there was no stopping it. He continued, "Its fine. I was just overreacting. I don't have a girlfriend. She, uh, died recently." It was as close as he could get to the truth.

"That totally wasn't overreacting!" Peter admonished before his voice settled into a softer, more awkward tone, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"There isn't really much to say. She was the love of my life and I fully intended on staying with her until we got married. I know we're a little young for that, but I loved her with everything I had. Her name was Artemis and, well, she had me just as whipped as Gwen has you." Wally paused and Peter's silence seemed to encourage him on, so he continued, "I never knew what she looked like other than what her face felt like, but I just know that she was beautiful. She was my spitfire and we hated each other when we first met. I don't know what happened, but we fell head over heels for each other and were dating soon after. And then, she died." Wally tapered off as he remembered listening to the video of Kaldur stabbing Artemis. Dick had given him the full mission report which included that video and it had broken Wally's heart when he heard it. He never listened to it again.

Peter's voice was filled with remorse when he said, "I'm sorry man. I can't imagine what it would feel like to lose Gwen. If anything happened to her…" He left the sentence open but Wally could imagine it. He'd seen heroes go off the deep end when their loved ones were killed. Suddenly the only purpose in life was to go after bad guys and take them down. It made it so they abandoned their actual lives and all the people they still had left and they spiraled. Kind of like the clone Roy Harper when he tried to find the real Roy Harper. Grief can do devastating things to anybody, but those devastating things can hurt others when its people with superhuman abilities or skills who experience it.

That led Wally to a different train of thought. Did he tell Peter that he knew that he was Spiderman, or did he wait until a later date? Did he wait for Peter to reveal it himself, or did he clear the air between them that was already tainted with so many of Wally's lies? If he did reveal that he knew the truth, how did he explain it? Did he cover it with more lies or did he come clean about his own superhero persona? But then he put Daredevil's identity at a crisis and that wouldn't be good for anyone. Wally settled with saying, "I hope you're essay for the internship doesn't sound all depressed now after this little talk." It was a weak attempt to lighten the situation, but it seemed to work because Peter gave a little laugh and agreed.

The two then worked through his internship application and spent some time on homework before eventually just relaxing. Wally eventually proposed, "You should totally come over to my house sometime. It'd have to be an overnight thing or something because it'd be kind of pointless to come all the way to Hell's Kitchen and then have to come all the way back here that same night."

"You're dad wouldn't mind?" Peter asked, moving his character on the game board. They'd decided on playing Chutes and Ladders because Wally said that he could totally do the game if Peter just moved his character around for him and told him where he was. It was surprisingly fun and Peter was really nice about the whole situation. It made Wally regret that he'd never had the idea to do this back home.

"Nah," Wally responded, listening as Peter moved his character and sighing when Peter announced that he fell down a chute (he knew the game was much too young for them but it was fun anyways). He continued, "If he was bothered with someone coming over, he'd just hang out at his friend Foggy's house instead, but I doubt he'd do that. According to Foggy, our apartment is pretty clean and stuff even if it's not very 'appealing to the eye'. His words, not mine. Apparently our window has a great view of a giant billboard, but since neither of us can see, it doesn't really bother us. Like it doesn't bother us that none of our furniture matches. As long as it's comfortable, we're good."

"That's cool. I think it's stupid that furniture has to match." Peter responded evenly. Wally could tell that he was getting tired and he wondered how long Peter had gone without a patrol. He could only hope that Peter would take this night off. Even though he knew that there would be crimes that Spiderman could have caught, there would be a lot more crimes that Spiderman neglected to catch if he was dead due to exhaustion costing his attention in battle. Alfred had been one to remind all of the Bat Clan of that little fact because they all had a rather suicidal tendency to keep running until they dropped.

Wally just laughed in response. He asked nervously, "Hey Peter?" The teen with spider powers just hummed noncommittally. He bit his lip before sighing and leaning his head back, asking, "Do you think I'll get into that SHIELD thing?"

Peter laughed and said, "From the science conversations I've had with you, they'd have to be crazy to not take you in."

Wally smiled, but he was internally wincing. He'd been meaning to tell the fellow crime fighter that he knew of his secret identity, but he'd chickened out. Then Wally laughed a little as he realized something, "If I get into it, we'll all be in different leading science companies. Gwen will be in Oscorp and you'll be in Stark Industries and I'll be in SHIELD. What are the odds of all of us knowing each other?"

"Not very high," Peter laughed, "And besides, there's no guarantee that I'll make it into the Stark Industries thing."

"Oh please, if I get into SHIELD, you'll get into SI, no problem." Wally stated confidently. Just then, his phone rang and Wally smiled apologetically at what he hoped was Peter and answered it, "Hello?"

"Wally?" Matt's voice came out incredibly quietly. Wally had told Matt that he became best friends with someone with slightly heightened senses and Matt being quiet like this meant that he had to tell Wally something that he didn't want Peter to overhear.

"Yeah Matt?" Wally questioned, fact settling into a frown.

Matt responded quickly, "I need you to get to Hell's Kitchen quick. There are some super villains here that I could use your help with. I'll explain on the way."

Wally answered, "I'll be there as soon as possible."

"What was that?" Peter asked, obviously confused that he couldn't hear the exchange.

Wally smiled in what he hoped was his direction and said easily, "Matt wants me home ASAP, so I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah," Peter agreed before saying, "Do you need me to walk you to the bus station?"

"No, I got it." Wally responded, "I memorized the path on the way here. Thanks though. See you tomorrow." And then Peter was walking him to the stairs and he was leaving the house with an extra goodbye from Aunt May.

He started running almost immediately when he was out of sight of any houses and he found an alleyway to change in. He pulled his phone up to his ear and said, "Call Matt."

There was a pause as the phone rang and then Matt said, "Wally."

"Kid Flash now, actually." Wally responded cheekily.

"Not the time Kid Flash," Matt practically growled before explaining the situation, "I've the Ani-men on my tail and Angar the Screamer is with them. I can't concentrate on all of them at once."

Kid Flash turned serious, pushing himself to run even faster, "Where are you?"

"I'm at the corner of Hickory Street and Tallows Drive. I'm at that small park there." Daredevil panted, pausing halfway through to presumably find a better hiding spot.

"Who are the Ani-men and Angar the Screamer?" Kid Flash demanded.

"Ani-men are made up of Ape-man, Bird-man, Cat-man, and Frog-man. None of them have superpowers as far as I'm aware, but they're still good. Ape-man definitely has some sort of boxing and wrestling training and he's definitely built like an ape. Bird-man's got this suit on that has wings and I think it increases it strength a little bit. I wasn't really listening when he was explaining it. Cat-man's got some acrobatics on his side and he's got some fast reflexes. Then there's Frog-man who's got something in his shoes that lets him jump really far. Angar the Screamer is this guy that can scream at deafening level and can even cause hallucinations with his screams. I could take on either the Ani-men or Angar, but not both at one crack. Get here soon, yeah?" Matt gasped out and Wally knew that he had been hit somewhere but was too stubborn to admit it at the moment. The job comes before the hero. It was how Matt worked and Wally couldn't help but be reminded of the Bat Clan.

"Be right there." Wally assured him confidently.

It took him less than a minute to find the aforementioned location and he paused just outside of the range to listen and try to figure out as much as he could about what was going on at the moment. A lot can change in half a minute. He could hear Daredevil in a fire escape just behind him, most likely aware of Wally presence as well. In the middle of the park, Wally could hear five men wandering around. Well, four were wandering around and one was standing in the middle. If Wally learned anything about super villains, then Angar would be the one standing still and watching the others work. He had the superpowers and he would use that to his advantage. It'd scare and possibly excite the other villains for a while before they'd get annoyed at his high and mighty attitude and they'd start to fight amongst themselves. It was what always happened.

Daredevil dropped down silently next to Wally and muttered low enough that Wally just heard it, "I'll attract the Ani-men towards me and you can take Angar?"

"Sounds good to me." Wally grinned. The thought of running always made him giddy, even when he went into battle.

Daredevil's hand on his arm brought him from his thoughts and Daredevil's voice was serious when he said, "Be careful. Just because we can't see doesn't mean we can't experience hallucinations. It'll hit some of your worst nightmares. Remember that it isn't real and focus on what is really there in front of you."

"I'll be careful. You be careful too. I know you're hurt; don't even try to deny it." Wally shot back.

"You know me too well." Daredevil laughed and then he disappeared, running lightly towards where the Ani-men were searching fruitlessly.

The second Kid Flash heard them start to give chase, he made his appearance, speeding to a stop in front of Angar. He grinned, "Hi!" At Angar's warning growl, his grin just grew and he asked innocently, "Oh I'm sorry. Am I in your way?"

Angar lashed out and tried to his Wally, but the speedster sped away and laughed, twirling around the man and ending up back in front of him again. He laughed and spun another circle around the man, turning him slightly. He wasn't able to connect a good punch because the man was already pulling up for a punch, so the turn had to do. Wally continued to do that, turning the man around and around at super speed until Angar was practically falling over in his dizziness and confusion. He probably couldn't even see straight to know where Wally was! Wally would turn him every time it look like Angar was about to scream and the villain would be distracted for a moment before Wally would turn him again. He wasn't letting the villain get his bearings long enough to hit him with a sonic scream. That was how Wally originally won against Aunt Dinah before she figured out what he was doing and just screamed anyways, regardless of the dizziness. Wally was hoping that this one wasn't smart enough to figure that out in time for him to make the scream.

Unfortunately, luck was not only Wally's side and the man screamed even as Wally was turning him. For a normal human, the sound was devastating and would cause them to clench their eyes in pain. At point blank range like Wally was, a normal human would be knocked to their knees with the pain, clutching at their ears and desperately wishing for the screaming to stop. At point blank range with heightened hearing, Wally was knocked flat on his back, struggling to avoid blacking out as his ears rang and rang and rang, no sounds coming through. He had to ignore the possibility that he'd never hear again and fight the man while he had a momentary upper hand. For just that moment (hopefully) Kid Flash couldn't hear anything, so Angar the Screamer's main plan of attack was useless. He should really think about that before he went and deafened someone (only momentarily of course; at least, please let it be only momentarily). It didn't take long for Kid Flash to spin him a few more times and he became too dizzy to properly dodge the attacks. Kid Flash took that opportunity to sock him in the jaw and then the man was out like a light.

When Daredevil returned a little over a minute later, Wally only knew because of the man's scent. He could smell the unique blend of leather and blood and sweat and lavender (because Foggy insisted on putting the candles they were given as payment to good use in the office) that told him that Matt was coming and he said (probably louder than intended), "I can see why they call him the Screamer. I can't hear anything."

Matt, who'd found out that Wally knew sign language a week ago, pressed signs into Wally's palm that could be translated to, "Although he can cause permanent hearing loss, I don't think that's the case here. I heard his scream from where I was and it wasn't as loud as it could have been. Plus, I think you're fast healing will help. If you still can't hear anything when you wake up in the morning, tell me." Wally nodded and Matt helped him home.

For the first time since he went blind, Wally felt truly lost. He couldn't see anything and he couldn't hear anything either. He used to rely on his sight and now he relied on his hearing the most and now both were gone and without them, he wouldn't be able to run. He wouldn't be able to hear his echolocation device and he wouldn't be able to hear other people and he would be completely useless. His biological father was wrong. It wasn't that he was a menace if he could run and safe if he couldn't. If he could run, he could save people and do good things and be a good person, but if he couldn't…. He didn't know what would happen. He could only imagine that he would go insane. A speedster not being able to run? That was the worst torture he could think of and the very idea tore at his soul. Would he ever be able to run again?

All he could do was hope and pray that the dawn would bring his hearing back with it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally v. Tornado. There's also some Peter/Wally/Johnny bromance and a touch of angsty-ness at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ignore the fact that the speed force can't be accessed in the Marvel universe. I was reading up about the speed force today and found that out and was like, welp, that sucks. So, pretty please ignore that!

WWWWWW

Wally had been obviously relieved that he'd woken up with hearing. Of course, his healing was still working overtime and it hurt his ears more than usual when he heard loud noises, which, being in the middle of Hell's Kitchen with enhanced senses means a lot of loud noises. Matt had decided that since it was the weekend, they might as well go on a mini vacation and take some time away from the city for Wally to fully heal. Wally was all for the idea because he wanted to explore as much of this new world as much as metahumanly possible. In hindsight, metahumanly didn't seem like a real word. He'd have to remember it and tell Dick about this one when he got back home so his brother would have a new word to weird out the newest members of the Team with. Dick always acted so dark and brooding and mysterious around the kids and then he threw out a word like asterous or whelming and they'd be so confused. It amused the original members to no end and apparently it'd become some sort of hazing ritual at some point. Superheroes were weird.

So Wally ran out of the city with Matt held bridal style (much to his complaint) with Foggy on his back (much to his complaint as well). Foggy had on a pair of swimming goggles and was giving directions on which turns Wally needed to make. They got lost a few times, but it definitely took way less time than it would have if they'd taken the bus like originally planned. The three of them ended up with a blanket sprawled beneath them, covered in food from multiple picnic baskets (those were in Wally's ring), chatting idly about this and that. They had planned on staying in a little cottage nearby with really cheap rent for Saturday night and then having Wally run them back Sunday night. It was a nice set up and Wally felt himself relax.

Later that night, the three were in the living room of the cottage they'd rented and Wally's ears felt significantly better than before. They were all talking quietly, Foggy having to scoot closer to hear the things that the others heard as if it were spoken directly into their ears, when the thunder storm hit. Things continued to be fine for a while until a loud alarm started blaring around the area, wailing and wailing as it went. Matt shouted to be heard over the noise, "What the heck is that?"

Foggy's voice was frightened when he shouted back, "It might have something to do with that giant tornado coming straight for us!"

"There weren't supposed to be any tornadoes in this area! There weren't even supposed to be any storms in this area!" Matt yelled back.

"You can't always trust what the weathermen say, Matt!" Foggy shouted back. Wally didn't hear what Matt said back because he was already swirling into his suit and running out the door. He did hear Matt's desperate cries for him to come back and not go out in that weather. That didn't stop him though.

He made sure to run around a little bit so he came in from a different direction so as to not be suspected of staying in the area. He heard storm chasers off to the side, videotaping the tornado and trying to get close enough to get a good picture, but not close enough to be in serious trouble. He heard their exclamations of surprise when they saw someone tear into the picture at super speed. Kid Flash grinned and started running opposite the tornado.

MMMMMM

Matt could not believe that Wally was out there right now! What was wrong with him? What could he possibly be thinking that made him believe that running outside when there's a tornado was a good idea? He was tempted to run out there himself and go after him, but Foggy's awed voice stopped him, "Matt! Matt, I so wish you could see this right now. Wally, well, Kid Flash, is running around the tornado. He's running around it and the tornado is disappearing. He's unraveling the tornado! How cool is that?" Foggy was practically gushing at that point and even Matt was surprised.

He knew that Wally could create tornadoes (the fire tornado that defeated the doombots came to mind), but he didn't think he could run fast enough to undo them. That was… amazing. It put him at god-like levels. To be able to stop a tornado in its tracks before it kills people and completely ruins a village? That was pure power. And the most amazing part was that it was done with pure intent. Matt had heard from Foggy about the scars on Wally's arms and how Foggy had even seen a rather large circular scar on his chest one time, so he knew that Wally wasn't exactly innocent. He knew that Wally had lost his parents and he knew that Wally was used to getting bullied. So, this kid had been through a lot in his short life and yet, he still retained an easy laugh and a trusting nature. Wally was always ready to brighten someone's day and he didn't let his disability stop him from helping people as much as he could and doing everything in his power to make other people happy. He was truly the best person who could have received such a potentially dangerous power because he would use it for the good of others, no matter what.

And then the alarms had stopped wailing abuse on Matt's ears and Wally was stumbling into the room from a back exit, dripping water (at least, he hoped it was water). He started to run towards Wally, but then Foggy said, "Wally, what's wrong?"

When Wally didn't answer, Matt started to get concerned and directed his question towards his best friend, "Is he bleeding? Is he hurt? What's going on?" He didn't smell any blood, but he might just be off his game.

Foggy responded worriedly, "He's totally unfocused and is just standing there, shivering. He doesn't even seem to be registering what we're saying."

"I think he's having a flashback, or shock or something. Can you go get a blanket, he's freezing?" Matt had reached Wally at that point and was rubbing his hands up and down his arms in an attempt to warm them, murmuring to Wally, "It's okay. You're alright now. Breathe. Come on, Wally, breathe for me. Breathe."

Foggy returned with a blanket and settled it around Wally's shoulders. That seemed to help somewhat because Wally started breathing normally, his heart rate slowing to a normal (for him) level and his shivering lessening. Finally, Wally's arms moved, probably to grab the blanket and wrap himself in it. When he spoke, his voice was clear, if not shaken, "I'm fine now. Thank you."

"You want to tell us what all that was about?" Foggy asked seriously. Matt nodded in agreeance.

"Not really." Wally replied, moving part of the blanket probably to put it underneath himself so he wouldn't get the couch wet and then sitting down, still wrapped up.

"Wally." Matt growled low in his throat, a warning.

Wally's voice was low when he responded, "I was having a flashback of the last time I ran opposite something to unravel it. It didn't end well for me." Matt's breath stuttered in surprise at the anger and bleakness in Wally's voice. The teenaged superhero sounded so broken up about whatever had happened then and Matt couldn't help but sit down next to Wally and wrap his arms around him. He soon felt Foggy doing the same thing on the other side.

Just before Wally fell asleep between them, Matt said, "You're safe now and we'll do our best to protect you."

Foggy added, "We'll listen whenever you want and we won't push for an answer."

Wally's voice was slurred with exhaustion when he responded, "M'kay. Thanks. G'night Mama Matt and Daddy Foggy." The two mentioned just laughed at him as he lost the battle against tiredness and fell asleep.

WWWWWW

It was Monday and Wally was at their lunch table at school, munching thoughtfully on his food. Matt and Foggy hadn't mentioned the incident at all the next day and it'd been pretty nice and relaxed, but Wally knew that if he ever had a freak out like that again, it wouldn't go over so well. Also, there was a chance that he would do it in the middle of the battle and that would be even worse. It wasn't like there was a therapist advertising sessions for superheroes in this dimension (that he knew of) and he didn't have any Aunt Dinahs around to get free therapy sessions from, so he was kind of out of luck in that regards. He really shouldn't have freaked out like that anyways, but running around that tornado had gotten him stuck in the time when he and Bart were unraveling tornadoes created by the MFD and then suddenly he was around the MFD and the sounds of his family were fading away and he was getting hit with those painful, painful blasts and he couldn't breathe anymore. Luckily Matt and Foggy had helped him back to reality, but the truth was that there would be more episodes like that if Wally didn't confide in someone. He needed at least one person who would know the truth and be able to at least kind of get it. That was what lead to Wally asking Peter, "Hey dude, do you think I can crash at your house for some more bro-time tonight? I had a ton of fun Friday."

"Yeah, sure. Meet you at the front of school again?" Peter asked as he settled down, Gwen right beside him. Wally just nodded. He would tell Peter that he knew that the teen was Spiderman and if he wasn't kicked out right away, he'd confide everything to Peter. The spider themed hero, if willing, would become his most trusted friend in this dimension. That's what scared Wally. Batman had always taught him to trust no one. It was the number one rule about everything, but secret IDs were what it applied to the most. One only trusted their team with that information and even then they took a while to tell the team and gauge their trustworthiness. Wally had known Peter for eight and a half days now and he'd only teamed up with him once. That wasn't nearly enough time to determine if a friend was a good confidante or not, but Wally didn't have the time to wait. He needed to tell someone today or he'd burst.

Wally didn't get a chance to tune back into the conversation Gwen and Peter was having because the person in charge of looking after the cafeteria blew on a whistle. Really loud. Just because Wally's ears were healed did not mean that they weren't still enhanced and it didn't still hurt if someone did that. Dang that was painful. And then the teacher shouted, "Wally Murdock to the principal's office right this moment! Go! Go!" In the silence that followed the teacher's announcement, Wally packed his food away in his lunchbox and slowly removed himself from his seat, feeling around for it and setting it back. He grabbed his things and his cane and started tapping his way to where he was pretty sure he remembered the principal's office to be. Hopefully he remembered. As he left the cafeteria, he heard murmurs of theories of what he did to get in trouble that would get him sent to the principal's office. He just scoffed lightly and felt concerned for the next generation of this dimension (and his own for that matter) if they were so engrossed in gossiping about others. He did actually wonder why he was being sent to the principal's office, though. It wasn't like he'd done anything wrong and he hadn't been good enough to get an award or anything either. What was going on?

He finally reached the office and knocked on the closed door politely. The conversation that had been occurring in there tapered off and someone called for him to come in. He did so and immediately noted the heartbeat of the principal and of three other men. He recognized one of them from the SHIELD meeting earlier, but he didn't want them to know that, so he kept any surprise and excitement off of his face as he asked politely, "You called for me, sir?"

The principal (an elderly thing named Mr. Dunslap) cleared his throat and told Wally, "These men here would like to talk to you and they asked that I offer my office as a place to talk with you. I'm going to be in a room just down the hall if you need me, alright Wally?" Mr. Dunslap was the kind of principal who knew most if not all of his students by name. He wasn't the greatest principal, but he was certainly better than some places. Wally nodded in response and heard Mr. Dunslap leave the room.

The man whose heartbeat Wally recognized then cleared his throat and said, "Do you know why we're here, Wally?"

"Um, I'm not entirely certain who you are, sir." Wally answered semi-honestly. He knew that they were SHIELD agents, but beyond that he really didn't know anything.

Apparently the man didn't know how to respond to that because when someone spoke again, it was a different person, "I am Doctor Mitchell Knightly and I am about to become the head of the SHIELD Medical and Research Labs here in New York. I told these agents here that I needed someone young to help me run the place and help me with my research; an intern basically. So, they went to several different high schools in the area and gave out a test to the top forty science students in the school. Out of all the tests, yours was the highest scoring test. All of the science questions you answered perfectly and you answered a lot of the morality questions favorably as well. We ran a background check on you as well and you're clean. So, if you want to, you can start working as an intern at those labs." Dr. Knightly's voice sounded old. Wally wondered idly how they considered Child Services coming after him to be clean, but decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth.

"What days would I be working and how would I get there?" Wally asked immediately. He knew he was going to say yes, but he needed more information.

He got the impression that Dr. Knightly was smiling when he said, "Ah, a smart planner I see. Here's the little details. We give you your own office and set of labs. You get to do your own personal research that is your intellectual property alongside the research I assign you. You get to boss around the nurses and the helpers. If you don't feel like working one day, just say that and you'll be scotch free. I run a relatively relaxed work environment. A buffet style meal will be provided for dinner. You would work every week day and there would be a driver sent to collect you from school and to drive you home." He finished and paused expectantly.

Wally's eyebrows rose and he said, "I can't ask you to drive me home! I live all the way in Hell's Kitchen."

The other person in the room laughed lightly (a female from the sound of her laugh) and when Wally's head tilted curiously in their direction, they said, "I'm sorry, but that's just too sweet. It's really no problem. I'm Agent Marcer and I'd be your chauffer. I love driving, so it's no big deal to drive that far and besides, we wouldn't want our intern to get mugged on his way home or something." Yep, definitely a female.

Wally bit his lip and said, "Oh, thanks then. When do I start?" He asked confidently.

There was definitely a smile in Doctor Knightly's voice when he said, "Next week Monday will be your first day. Agent Marcer here will be waiting for you near the front doors of the school and she'll drive you to the location and then we'll get over with all those boring things like orientation and signing papers and all that."

Wally smiled in his (hopefully) direction and said, "Thank you so much for this opportunity! Oh, and, who was the first person who spoke, by the way? I don't think we were ever introduced."

"I'm Agent Nick Blood. I'll be in charge of security in this facility." The man answered politely. Wally felt like he could along very well with these three people; he knew he would be seeing a lot of them.

He grinned in their direction and said, "Well, it's nice to meet all of you! I look forward to working with you Monday. Um, is that all?" After receiving an affirmative, he was told to go ahead and go back to lunch. He was also told that he was not allowed to tell anyone else about his new position other than his guardian and that he couldn't even tell the people who were at the meeting with him.

With that, he returned to his lunch seat and started wolfing down his food because he'd just lost a large portion of his time to eat and he had a lot to eat. Next class was a science class so he couldn't eat in there and he might just starve to death if he didn't get to eat all of his food (exaggeration, but not really). Peter asked curiously, "What was that all about?"

Wally lied quickly, "Mr. Dunslap just wanted to get my opinion on opportunities for blind people here at this school." It hurt to lie, but he'd clear it all up tonight when it was just him and Peter.

Gwen's voice was slightly surprised when she said, "I wonder why he did it during lunch instead of, like, before or after school or even during homeroom."

"Probably wanted to make it as embarrassing as possible with everyone in the cafeteria knowing that he was called to the principal's office." Peter laughed and the other two laughed with him. Wally smiled; it was nice having friends his own age. Kind of. They were a little older, like Johnny, but they were closer. In hindsight, the only friend he'd ever had who was his age was Linda. Everyone else was older than him or younger (like the newer members of the Team). That was kind of depressing. Wally shrugged it off and rejoined in the conversation. He would savor this moment for as long as he could before tonight when he'd tell Peter about himself. There was a chance that it would end badly and he wanted this last happy memory of them as friends in case it did. He really hoped that Peter would understand, but he was still worried. This was bad as when he and Dick told the Team their identities. Actually, he took that back. This was so much worse.

PPPPPP

Peter and Wally had just settled in his room with two boxes of pizza (when Aunt May had asked, they'd claimed something about growing boys needing their food) and were busying munching away on their dinner. Peter stared at Wally curiously. The boy had been quieter than usual when they'd started the trek back to Peter's house and it was concerning him. The ginger was never quiet, yet now he seemed concerned about something. Wasn't it interesting how one can know another person for just over a week and feel like they've known them for their entire life? He asked slowly, "Wally? You okay there dude?"

The younger teen bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck for a moment before resettling his position and then running his finger over a ring that rested on one of his other fingers (he said it was a family heirloom kind of thing; it was a clean silver band with a small bird surrounded with lightning bolts on it; if a person didn't have heightened vision like Peter, they would have had a hard time distinguishing what was on it). Peter was sure that there was something wrong now. Wally only did those things when he was nervous about something, or worried. After another moment of silence, Peter pushed, "Wally?"

His response was so sudden that Peter was momentarily startled, "Can I tell you something Peter? And have you promise to listen until I finish? And promise to not tell anyone?"

Hesitantly, Peter promised, "I'll listen. You can tell me anything with faith that I won't tell anyone else; I'm your friend."

Wally smiled sadly and put his food down. He bit his lip and said, "I… I'm Kid Flash." For a moment, Peter just froze. What? That was so not what he thought was going to happen that he was thrown for a loop. Did he seriously just say that? And did he really expect Peter to believe him. Then Wally continued, "I know; I'm blind, how can I run at super speed and fight crime? I've got heightened senses, like, incredibly heightened senses to the point where I can almost paint a picture of the room. That's how I can draw; I can feel where the air moves downwards in the small dips formed from the pressing of pencil and against paper and I can smell where the graphite it and how much is in that area. And, um, I can hear heartbeats. Which means that… well, since Kid Flash fought alongside Spiderman that one time…" Wally trailed off and Peter's heart practically stopped. No, no way. This could not be happening! This… this was not real. He can't know! Wally finished, "I know that you're Spiderman."

Peter's eyes were practically popping out of his head. His breath stuttered in his throat and he set his pizza slice down carefully. He wasn't entirely certain how to deal with… this. He cleared his throat and said, "You were in that alcove when I left and when I came back. There's no way you'd have gotten in that hole without me seeing you since I was facing that direction when you left." He chose to ignore the fact that his secret identity had just been blown open in front of him.

Wally's voice was soft when he said, "I ran around to the other side of the alcove and vibrated through the wall. I can go that fast." There was a pause where Peter just tried to catch his breath and stop freaking out and then Wally asked in a small, desperate voice, "Do you hate me now?" And if that didn't just take Peter's breath away. The pain, the worry, the anguish in Wally's voice as he asked that question; it was like he expected nothing more than to be tossed aside like a piece of trash and deserve it. It was like he was fully convinced that Peter would never talk to him again and he was resigned to the fact; willing to take the blow. It broke Peter's heart a little bit.

He managed to exclaim, "No! No, of course I don't hate you! I just… I was surprised is all. I, uh, I'm not quite used to people knowing. It's just you and Gwen who knows." Wally nodded and didn't say anything else, knees pulled up to his chest and his head resting on his kneecaps. Peter cleared his throat again and said, "So, you're Kid Flash, huh?"

"Yeah," Wally kind of laughed before a serious expression slid into place on his face again and he bit his lip before saying, "I hate to say this, but… there's more."

"Ha," Peter laughed awkwardly, "Uh, okay. I think I can take one more surprise tonight, but no more after that, okay?"

Wally smiled sadly and seemed to wince before announcing, "I'm from a different dimension."

Well, okay then. Peter was not prepared for that surprise. He should have specified. He spluttered out, "Say what now? You what?! How? When? What?" The red head seemed to shrink into himself at Peter's exclamations and the superhero immediately felt bad. His voice was gentler when he asked, "Seriously?"

Wally's voice was sullen as he answered, "Seriously. I think it had something to do with two parallel, um, events that happened in both dimensions. In mine, there was the MFD and in yours there was the portal that, uh, Loki opened up. I think his name was Loki. I think that those two things happening at the same time ended up opening some sort of, I don't know, path for me to get to this dimension."

"Wait," Peter started, "You've only been in this… dimension since the alien attack?" At Wally's hesitant nod, Peter blew out a breath and said, "I'm impressed. You've certainly adjusted quickly. Wow." He paused and studied Wally's face for a second before narrowing his eyes and asking, "You think I'm going to hate you for this, don't you?" The other teenaged superhero nodded again, even smaller than before and Peter smiled sadly, "I would never hate you for that Wally. I told you earlier: you're my friend. Who else knows about this?"

"Matt and Foggy know that I'm Kid Flash, but no one other than you knows about the dimension thing." Wally answered.

"How could you stand having no one know?" Peter questioned incredulously.

"I couldn't. Not really. That's why I figured that I had to tell someone and you were the person I thought of." Wally replied. Peter felt touched. That was huge that he was the one that Wally had trusted with this information.

Then he tilted his head and said, "Wait, so Matt is not your dad? And, I'm sorry to ask this but, is Artemis, that girl you told me about, really… passed away then?"

Wally smiled, a little happier this time, and responded, "No, Matt is not my dad and, yeah, Artemis is still alive just in the other dimension. I miss her so much though. She had to fake her death one time though and that wasn't so nice."

Peter raised a hand and said, "Wait. Backup and start over. I want to know everything. You're going to call Matt and tell him that you're sleeping over and then we're going to talk for hours where you'll tell me everything about your life and I'll tell you everything about mine and then Kid Flash and Spiderman are going to have a patrol of epic proportions. We might even invite Human Torch to make it extra awesome."

Wally laughed and did as Peter said; calling Matt and informing him that he would be sleeping over. Matt had easily said yes as long as they got their homework done with. Wally obviously hadn't said anything about Peter being Spiderman or about the whole dimension thing or going on patrol that night. Then Wally started telling his story. He told Peter about his abusive parents and getting super speed (he didn't elaborate much on how that occurred) and being blinded and marked (he showed his scarred eyes and the giant circle with a lightning bolt on his chest) and being sent to a Gotham orphanage. He explained being adopted by Batman and the rest of the 'Bat Clan' and finding out that the Flash was his uncle. He continued to tell the story of going from patrolling in Gotham to Central where he met the Rogues. He told of the formation of the Team and meeting Artemis and then the mind control incident with family. He explained how they got through that and everything worked out fine until the Reach landed on Earth and he finally told about the MFD. He moved onto talking about his time in this dimension, ending at the SHIELD agents accepting him that day during lunch. Peter responded with his life story (noting how they both had really awful lives that just kept being thrown curveballs for them to deal with).

By the time they were finished, they'd eaten all the pizza and it was time for Peter to start his regular patrol. He turned to Wally and said, "Human Torch or no Human Torch? I'm assuming you don't want me to say anything about your real identity, right? Just like you hopefully won't say anything about mine?"

Wally smiled fully for the first time since they'd gotten to Peter's house and he grinned, "Let's invite Johnny. And yeah, no telling him about me and I won't tell him about you." The two shook hands on it before laughing.

Peter then called up Johnny's number from his burner phone that he used as his Spiderman phone. It rang for a few seconds before Johnny's voice came out, "Spidey? What's up dude?" Peter knew that he didn't need to put it on speaker for Wally to hear.

"Nothing much. I was just wondering if you wanted to come patrol with Kid Flash and I?" Peter grinned.

"Are you serious?" Johnny's voice practically shouted before continuing, "Dude, give me a place to meet you and I'll be there. This is going to be awesome! Wait, when did you meet him? I was totally looking forward to being that awesome friend who introduced the awesome new kid."

Peter laughed, "Didn't you hear about my team-up with him at that school raid with Rhino and Electro?"

"No, I didn't! We need to have more communication in this relationship dude." Johnny replied seriously.

"Maybe I can be the mediator." Wally laughed into the phone after motioning Peter to hand it to him.

Johnny's voice was bright with excitement as he said, "Kid Flash! My man! What's happening? Where do you guys want me to meet you?"

"Show up at the Empire State building and we'll be at the top. See you soon buddy." Peter replied, giddy with adrenaline. This was gonna be awesome!

Wally quipped, "I'd say race you, but I know that I'd beat you no problem."

"Do you even know how to get there?" Peter asked dubiously as he started to change into his costume, half hidden by the door of his closet even though he knew Wally couldn't see him. He added as an afterthought, "Are you going to change?"

"Matt took me around to all the different landmarks and stuff so I'd know to get to them just in case. I've got a mental map of New York and I can definitely get to it from here. And yeah I'm going to change, I just don't have to do it anytime soon because I'm not slow like you are." Wally remarked.

Peter stuck his head around the closet door and pouted, "This is abuse right here."

Wally laughed, "Sure it is." Since Peter's head was still around the door, he saw what happened next. He couldn't claim to have kept up with it, but he still saw it. As he watched, Wally did something to his ring and the (already becoming iconic) Kid Flash suit flew out of it and into the air. Wally seemed to blur as he grabbed the suit and did something and less than a second later, there was he was, resplendent in his superhero garb. Peter could just stare. What the heck? What even was that? Was he really that fast? Then again, he could apparently vibrate through walls, so he's gotta be pretty fast. He grinned at Peter, "Are you done getting ready yet? Jeez, you're worse than a girl."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being a girl!" Peter refuted from where he had closed the closet door, pulling his mask on.

Wally's tone gave the impression that he was raising an eyebrow at Peter as he said, "Did you just admit to be a girl? Is there something you're not telling me Spiderman?"

Peter just rolled his eyes and said, "Are you running while I swing or am I swinging you or are you running me? We could do it anyway."

"How about I run you? No offense, but until I hear you swinging, I don't trust them things to hold my weight and yours. Besides, I want to beat Johnny there and you were moving so slow that we have to go at super speed to beat him!" Kid Flash announced brightly.

Peter nodded and the two crawled out of his window and onto the ground below, making sure that there wasn't anyone watching. Then Kid Flash grabbed Spiderman and they were running.

JJJJJJ

Johnny hovered to a stop at the top of the Empire State building where Spiderman was crouching, apparently out of breath and Kid Flash was just grinning at him, laughing about something. Somehow both of them saw or heard him coming or something because they both turned to face him as he touched down. He raised his hands to his sides and said, "Hey, what'd I miss?"

"Something horrible." Spiderman grumbled.

"Wow, thanks. Way to boost a man's ego dude." Kid Flash pouted. Johnny just raised an eyebrow until Kid Flash explained, "I took Spiderman for a run around at super speed. He didn't seem to like it." There was a pause while Johnny took in the hunched over, clutching at the pole position that Spiderman had adopted before Kid Flash offered, "Hey! You want to try? Come on, I've got to find someone who likes it. Daredevil hates it. Spiderman hates it. You've gotta like it. Third time's the charm, right?"

Before Johnny could answer (with an emphatic yes), Spidey asked curiously, "How do you even do that without, like dying? Wouldn't running that fast basically destroy your body and your suit?"

Johnny didn't even get a chance to try to stop this potentially scientific conversation before Kid Flash responded, "Nah, there's this thing called a speed force aura that I've got going on."

Spiderman immediately questioned, "Speed force aura?" He seemed much more interested than before. Johnny barely contained his groan.

"Yeah," Kid Flash explained, "It protects me and anyone else I'm carrying from the affects of running at that high speed. It also lets me punch stuff at super speed without, like, my bones shattering from the force. It's kind of like a little force field made by the Speed Force. It also, you know, stops my brain from, like, melting or something drastic like that because of the high speeds." Johnny just gave up. He seriously gave up. Here he was with two awesome superhero bros who were around his age and they were talking about science. He got enough science at home and now he was here with his friends, still talking about science. Why was this his life?

Ah well, if you can't beat them, join them as the old saying goes. Johnny asked, "What's the Speed Force?"

Kid Flash's nose crinkled a little bit as he thought and he said, "It's an extra-dimensional energy that I get my powers from. Kind of. I got my powers from an accident, but the Speed Force powers my abilities I guess. When a speedster dies, they merge with the Speed Force. I guess it's like an afterlife for us? I don't know. It's a tangible place that I can go to, but it's incredibly dangerous and I could easily get stuck in it. That's what would happen if I go too fast. I'll get sucked into the Speed Force. Yeah, so it's basically the source of my powers. I'm still discovering things about it as I go."

Huh, well, that was actually pretty cool. Johnny frowned. Reed and Susan were rubbing off on him if he was starting to think that talking science with his superhero buddies was cool. Great. There was a pause and then Johnny said, "Well now I have to accept that offer of a ride."

"Seriously?" Kid Flash said excitedly. Spiderman just groaned. Johnny nodded just as excitedly and Kid Flash grinned, "Hop on then." It was a little awkward for Johnny to ride piggy back since he was taller, but it all worked out in the end with Kid Flash speeding down the edge of the building with a, "See you soon!" to Spiderman.

Johnny felt the breath torn from his throat as Kid Flash plunged over the edge of the building, plummeting down the side like it was a normal, everyday experience. Just before the street, Kid Flash jumped off slightly and hit the ground running. And that's when the real running began.

The Human Torch did not know how to react to this so he just whooped in excitement. The very world was blurring around them, fading away into shadows and indistinct lights as Kid Flash ran. Wind buffeted them as the continued to run. Johnny felt like he was sitting on top of the world and everyone else was below him, going so slow when he was capable of going so fast. It was like the world was at his fingertips. He could get anywhere he wanted whenever he wanted. The air was stolen from his lungs and it was hard to look up without his eyes hurting, but it was all worth it. He kept catching glimpses of things out of the corner of his eye, the Chrysler building, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Times Square, Yankee Stadium and then, suddenly, they were running up the side of the building, flying up the Empire State building and skidding to a halt.

Johnny got onto his own two feet gingerly, still feeling like he was running at super speed. In hindsight, it was fun while he was doing it, but not so much when he was standing still again. It was like getting off a boat for the first time in a week. One kept feeling the Earth moving beneath feet that were firmly planted on unmoving ground. He felt kind of dizzy actually. He grinned sheepishly in Kid Flash's direction and said, "Dude that was a ton of fun! But then I stopped and now I feel kind of sick. Aw man, I could probably get used to it pretty easily, but I'll feel awful after each time."

Kid Flash shrugged good naturedly and opened his mouth to say something, but at just that moment, Spiderman's head whipped up and he said, "Hey Flame Brain, KF, we've got some crime going on. Or were you just planning on playing around all night?" With that, Spiderman leapt off the building, shooting a web out of his wrist at the last minute, flipping and shooting another one.

Johnny muttered, "Flame Brain?" at the same time that Kid Flash said, "KF?" Both shrugged at the same time and then Johnny was all fired up, hovering in the air as he pushed off to go after Spiderman who was quickly fading out of view. He watched as Kid Flash, or KF as he was totally calling him from now on, leapt off the building, running down the side and tearing down the streets, casually running out of the way of civilians and trees and poles and stuff, easily following Spidey. The Human Torch had no idea how he figured out where to go and when there was something in his way when he was running because Johnny couldn't see anything other than blurs and slightly recognizable flashes when he was being carried. KF was amazing. Spidey was pretty amazing too. They made a great group. Shaking off his kind of deep thoughts, Johnny grinned and flew off after his two friends, racing off to fight crime.

WWWWWW

Wally got home mid morning the next day. He wasn't sure when he started calling Matt's house home, but that's what the place really was to him. It was home for the foreseeable future. He grinned and called out, "Honey I'm home."

Matt's grumpy voice came from the kitchen, "I know. I heard the door open."

The speedster zipped into the kitchen and starting raiding the fridge, "So you admit that you're my little Honey?"

"Don't push it." Matt growled jokingly and the speedster laughed at the devil who just let out a little huff that really could have passed for a sigh or laugh. Matt let Wally get his food and then asked, "How was school yesterday?"

"You know you'd make a great mom, right Matt?" Wally teased and Matt growled at him in response. Wally was smiling when he answered, "Well, you know that SHIELD meeting that I was invited to the other day? Well, I just got offered and accepted a chance to be an intern/assistant at a new SHIELD facility nearby. They'll drive me there from school and then drive me back here after work. It'll just be on week days, so weekends will…" Wally trailed off as he heard Matt freeze from the other side of the kitchen. He asked meekly, "What's wrong Matt?"

Matt's voice was dangerously low when he asked, "You joined SHIELD?"

Wally's voice held a scowl in it when he answered, "It's a great opportunity for me. Why do you say it with such disdain?"

"Why? This is SHIELD! Didn't I tell you that first night that SHIELD was an agency to stay away from? And yet you completely ignored my advice and joined it!" Matt snarled back.

"Why do you even care? It's not like it affects you any! So what if I blow my cover? That's my decision to make I'd think." Wally shot back. He wasn't sure why Matt was so upset about this.

Matt bit out, "Did you ever think that they might find out my alter ego too?"

"If you keep hiding it as well as you do, you won't have to worry about it. The only interactions they'll have with you is if they see you when they drop me off in the afternoons." Wally refuted.

"You're only going to get hurt working with them." Matt responded, voice calmer and more in control.

Wally had no such qualms and announced angrily, "I can take care of myself!"

"You're just a kid, Wally! You've been a superhero for only a couple of weeks! You're not ready to take care of yourself!" Matt argued.

The speedster growled lowly, vibrations shaking his body ever so slightly. Was this really what Matt thought of him? Was he just some snot nosed little brat who couldn't take care of himself out there in the real world? Matt had no idea what Wally had been through! He'd been an adult before he came to this stupid dimension! Wally countered, "I can take care of myself just fine! I'm not just a kid anymore; I lost the innocence required for that a long time ago. The world is a cruel place and I've experienced that. You can't try to 'protect' me because you think you know best! I'm in my senior year of high school at fourteen years old! I can process an entire scene in an attosecond! That's one quintillionth of a second! I can react within a femtosecond and I have supercharged brain activity. I'm pretty sure I can make some decisions for myself!" Wally finished.

Matt's response was immediate as he snarled, "Apparently you can't if you decided to join SHIELD."

"Can't you just accept that I know what I'm doing and I have a specific reason to join it?" Wally asked, suddenly tired. It wasn't in a speedster's nature to be angry for long periods of time and he'd exhausted his supply of anger. Now he was just weary.

There was a huff and then Matt said, "Call that SHIELD agency and tell them that you won't be working with them."

"Seriously?" Wally sighed. Were they really going to do this?

"Yes." Matt's answer was clipped and angry.

"No. I won't do it." Wally replied calmly.

Matt responded in a forced calm voice, "Fine. Then I'll call them for you."

"They want me to work there and besides, I already know more about their program than they would tell anyone else. They're not going to let me go without a fight. You call them and tell them no and they'll call in Child Services to take me somewhere they can get me to work for them." Wally theorized. He wasn't sure if they would do that, but it would make sense and fit them as far as he'd seen.

Matt's voice was so quiet when he responded that Wally wouldn't have heard it without his enhanced hearing, "Maybe that would be for the best." Wally felt cold all over. He felt like someone had just poured ice water down his back. Matt didn't seriously just say that, did he? It vividly reminded Wally of his first night at Wayne manor and Damian's hurtful words. He didn't have a tree to escape into this time, though.

He stumbled back a little bit, his back hitting the counters, increasing his panic. Matt didn't seriously mean that, did he? Would he really just leave Wally like that? Would he just abandon Wally, letting someone else take him in because Wally was too much trouble? His biological father's words washed over Wally as he stumbled to the side, just trying to get out. Worthless. Annoying. Pathetic. Waste of space. In the way. Distracting. Stupid. Menace. No one cares. Impossible to love. Piece of garbage. Wally was drowning under the words and in the tight feeling of not being able to get out. He needed out. Heneededoutheneededtogetoutofthisplacebuthedidn'thaveanywheretogobecausetherewasn'tanyoneinthisdimensionandhewaslostandtrappedandnervousandterrifiedandhurthurthurtandwantedtogohomewantedtogohometogohomehomehomehomehome.

Matt's voice finally penetrated through the haze that had settled over Wally's mind, frantic exclamations and butterfly light fingertips at his shoulders, his face, feeling his pulse. Wally finally got enough of his emotions together to ask fearfully, "Am I really bothering you that much? Do you really want to get rid of me so much?"

The sharp intake of breath from Matt only served to solidify Wally's thoughts. His father always used to do that before he got mad and started to beat Wally. Now Matt was doing it and he was going to kick Wally out. Then Matt's calloused hand was light on Wally's cheek, serving as a point of contact to keep Wally in the future. Matt's voice was soft with worry and concern (why would he be concerned when he just wanted to get rid of him), "Wally, Wally, I don't want to get rid of you. I am so, so sorry that I said that. It wasn't a reflection of you, I swear. I love having you around the house. I love the way we settled into this pattern so easily. I love you like… you're like a son to me Wally even though I met you less than a month ago. I thought that I wasn't a good guardian for you. I was upset at myself, not at you and I spoke without thinking. I am so sorry, Wally. Do you forgive me?"

"I'm sorry!" Wally exclaimed suddenly.

He heard Matt's head tip to the side and he asked softly, "What are you sorry for Wally?" It reminded Wally so much of Damian's words that night that tears started to well in his ruined eyes.

Wally sniffed, "I mess everything up and I'm useless and I can't do anything right and I just came in and messed up your life and I upset you and I'm sorry!"

"There is absolutely no reason for you to be sorry." Matt announced sternly. That was the tipping point for Wally and he sunk to the ground, burying his head in his knees and sobbing brokenly. He ruined everything and he just wanted to go home and snuggled into his bed at Wayne manor and wrap his arms around Artemis and know that all his brothers and his sister were watching over him and that Bruce was there and loved him and he just wanted to go home. But when Matt's arms wrapped around him and pulled him into the older superhero's chest, he thought that this was possibly the best place he could be in this dimension. He needed Matt if he was going to stay sane in this dimension. Despite it still being mid-morning, Wally fell asleep sobbing into Matt's chest.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Working at SHIELD is stressful, but training with friends is fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's actually a real thing where mind readers have a hard time reading speedsters' minds because they think so fast that the mind reader can only get a vague impression about what's going on, but not actually get the whole thing. I swear I didn't just make that up randomly.

WWWWWW

Wally walked into Agent Nick Blood's office with a heavy dose of apprehension. Despite his original theory, he hadn't actually seen much of this man (although he'd seen plenty of Agent Marcer and Dr. Knightly). It was the end of his first week on the job and for some reason the head of security was calling him into his office. Sensing a door in front of him (his echo locators told him it was a solid object, but wind still flowed in and out of the room in a rectangle), he knocked on it with his cane. Listening intently as whoever was inside quickly shuffled some papers, presumably to hide them, before stopping and leaving the papers out (he was blind after all and couldn't really see the papers) and calling, "Come in."

Agent Blood started talking as soon as Wally walked in, "Please have a seat. This shouldn't take long. It's really a rather simple matter and I just want you to say at the end whether you understand or not. Can you do that?" He waited for Wally's polite, if worried, affirmative and continued, "I've heard from everyone that you are a wonderful person and are incredibly helpful to have around the lab. Some of the college age helpers have actually mentioned that you were tutoring them in their classes and helping them with the lab work they are assigned here. That is quite nice or you to do. However, it does not allay suspicions that have been cast on you. Don't worry; it's nothing you did. It's simply that we at SHIELD are suspicious of anyone and everyone. We will always suspect that you are being bribed and threatened and so on so forth and that our information is not safe with you. That is why we found a failsafe. It's quite easy to understand and all you have to do is tell me whether you understand or not and then you can be on your merry way. If you tell anyone anything about SHIELD, its agents, or this location, Child Services will be receiving a call about a certain Wally Wayne staying at Matthew Murdock's house in Hell's Kitchen. Am I understood?"

Wally's breath caught in his throat. He should have known that they didn't overlook the Child Services thing. He should have known that there was something else going on. He hadn't even thought about them using it against him. His voice sounded strangled when he choked out, "Are you blackmailing me?"

"Yes." Was Agent Blood's blunt response before he elaborated, "I do not enjoy blackmailing the people who I am in charge of protecting, nor do I enjoy blackmailing children. I am under orders to do this and I hope it does not affect our work relationship later on." Well, that was a first. Wally was being treated like an adult here. Even as an adult in college he'd still been treated as a kid! And if someone managed to get past the fact that he wasn't an adult, they'd belittle him because he was blind. But here, here they respected him for his knowledge and they knew of his capabilities. They understood what things he could and couldn't do. It was really nice and made Wally feel a little bit more at home here.

So when he answered, he made sure to keep a level head and respond, "I understand what will happen if I give away secrets and I understand that you're just doing your job. Thank you for informing me of this."

He could sense the smile and the relieved tone in Agent Blood's voice when he responded, "Very well then, thank you. You may leave now. I hope to become closer to the people I am in charge of protecting, but I am rather busy at the moment getting everything settled in and, well, blackmailing people." Wally could detect a note of sheepishness enter Agent Blood's voice at the last sentence although he maintained his evenness of tone. Wally just smiled and nodded politely in what was hopefully his direction and left without another word. That was one of the weirdest interactions he'd ever had. And that was saying something.

He'd never had someone blackmail him to calmly and… concisely before and he'd never reacted so well to being blackmailed (not that he was blackmailed a lot). Huh. Before Wally could reflect further on his thoughts, Agent Marcer came up beside him and said gently, "Hey Wally there you are; you should grab your stuff. There are some huge brass coming today unexpectedly and they want all the helpers and non-full time workers out of the building. I guess they're doing an inspection or something. You don't have anything to hide, do you?"

Wally laughed in response and walked the last couple of feet to his office (how cool was it that he had his own office; it was more than he could say for Gwen at Oscorp and Peter who was now working at Stark Industries), sweeping up his backpack and gathering together all of his papers to stuff into his pack. The workers were allowed to take their personal research home with them as long as they didn't inform anyone of where they were doing the experiments and tests. Wally was currently very thankful for that rule because he wasn't quite ready for others to see his research yet. He had finally found what he was looking for; the link that was going to help him get home and he'd started researching immediately. He trusted Dr. Knightly and the others to not dig through his stuff (he didn't exactly trust the same with Agent Blood, but whatever), but he didn't trust these supposed 'brass' to not go through his things. So he'd take it home with him for safe keeping. He never knew; maybe he'd make some sort of breakthrough at home that he couldn't think of in the sterile setting of the lab environment.

As Wally and Agent Marcer were walking towards the garage where they'd use a company car to get him home, Wally heard heartbeats approaching them from the hallway they were going down. The bad thing was that Wally couldn't suggest that they take an alternate path to avoid the people because he shouldn't be able to hear them. The worst thing was that Wally recognized two of the heartbeats. It was the two people who had taken him away in handcuffs on his first day in this dimension. Shoot, shoot, shoot. Logically, he knew that they wouldn't recognize him but he was still seriously freaking out. What are the odds of this occurring? Seriously?

And then the group was rounding the corner, Doctor Knightly in the lead with the two heartbeats he recognized right behind the elderly scientist. There were two other heartbeats that he didn't know behind the other three. The group stopped when they were greeted with a blind teen and an agent walking down the hallway towards them. Wally heard Agent Marcer let out a breath slowly (likely a calming exercise) and spoke smartly, "I am sorry sir for not having the building cleared of part-time workers as asked."

Before Wally could assure them that it wasn't the kindly driver's fault, Agent Blood's voice floated from behind them, "It wasn't her fault. I had kept Wally behind. I was informing him of a… separate clause of his contract that was recently added." Wally raised his eyebrow when he heard that phrasing of the term blackmail. He was rather impressed by how eloquent that sounded.

Doctor Knightly's voice, although tinted with confusion, was excited when he commented, "Ah, no matter. I've wanted to introduce you all to my assistant anyways. Technically, he's still under the title of intern, but I'm planning to promote him as soon as possible. Surprise, kid. He's only been here a week and he's easily the most competent, understanding, intelligent, and creative person I've worked with – and that includes some of the Doctors I've worked on projects with. This kid is definitely on top of things." Wally ducked slightly and aimed a glare (hopefully still effective without eyes) in Doctor Knightly's direction when he felt a hand on his head. The man had obviously been intending to ruffle his hair and Wally greatly disliked it when people did that. He wasn't four years old anymore (not that his parents had ruffled his hair when he was four; more like tried to yank it out or use it to pull him into the closet where they'd lock him in but Wally tried to not think about that)!

The man whose heartbeat he recognized spoke with barely concealed (at least to Wally's sensitive ears) amusement in his voice, "Well it's a pleasure to meet your nameless assistant. I'm sure I can interact with him further, but we have something to do and he has somewhere to go. Why don't we continue that another day?" His voice was lightly threatening by the end of the statement and Wally couldn't help but be vividly reminded of Amanda Waller (A/N: Spelling?).

The woman whose heartbeat he recognized spoke next, sounding impatient, "We have another appointment soon." With that, the group headed off in the direction that Agent Marcer and Wally had come from, Agent Blood joining their little group.

Agent Marcer gulped as they continued walking and muttered mainly to herself, "I thought for sure I was going to be fired."

"Doc Knightly's too nice to fire you for something like that. You'll be fine. Who were those people who talked?" Wally patted her arm sympathetically.

Significantly calmer now, Agent Marcer replied off-handedly, "Oh, that was Director Nick Fury and his second in command Agent Hill. I heard his second in command used to be some Agent Coulsen or something but apparently he died."

Wally tilted his head to the side and said, "I know I asked, but are you sure you're supposed to be telling me all that?"

Agent Marcer sighed and said, "Probably not Wally and I know for a fact that there are cameras everywhere so people know that I just told you and I know I'm probably going to be fired for it, but whatever. I can't very well take it back now. I'm resigned to my fate." Wally couldn't help the small laugh that slipped past his lips and Agent Marcer's voice was curled with amusement when she commented, "I'm glad to know my impending doom amuses you." He just laughed outright at that. He was definitely glad that he joined this program. He had the resources and the ideas to research into getting home and he had made friends and he'd have experience working in a lab for whenever he got back to his dimension. He frowned to himself. He hoped that Bruce hadn't made some announcement about him already being dead or anything. That would cause some complications when he got home. Wally shrugged to himself and got into the car after Agent Marcer, participating in casual conversation as she drove him home.

PPPPPP

Spiderman, Daredevil, and Human Torch were all in a remote field somewhere in New York that Kid Flash had apparently found and they were all training together as a day off. Kind of counterproductive, but none of them seemed to mind. Currently, they were watching Kid Flash race around the obstacle course that they'd set up (it had lasers and chemical vats courtesy of the Fantastic Four and was easily the most dangerous obstacle course Spiderman would ever run). Peter was standing next to Daredevil (who had yet to reveal his identity although Peter had a sneaking suspicion that this was the Matt that Wally talked so much about) and was actually kind of terrified because Daredevil was by far the scariest superhero he'd met. And he'd met the Hulk so that was saying something. Human Torch was on the other side of Daredevil and he looked just as scared as Peter. That man was scary, not that that affected Wally at all. Kid Flash just didn't seem to understand how many nightmares Daredevil inspired. But then again, from what Kid Flash had told him about Batman who was his adopted father, Batman was scarier than Daredevil so maybe he had a reason to not be scared out of his wits.

As Wally finished his last loop around the obstacle course, the foursome heard the telltale sounds of a jet coming down near them. Peter frowned; he hadn't even realized there was a jet nearby. It obviously hadn't been near enough to set off his spider sense, but he still should have been able to hear it. The frown on Wally's face told him that his friend was having the same problem. Then Peter got a good look at the jet and sighed to himself, that's why he didn't know it was there. That jet that the X-men had was pretty sweet. Johnny always grumbled how the Fantastic Four Fantasticar was better and Peter generally ignored him. What did the X-men want here though? Were they too close to that school or something and they want them to move? They knew that none of them were mutants so surely they'd leave them alone.

He'd actually gotten into an argument with them one time. They'd insisted that he come to their school to learn how to control his mutant powers and he was like, not a mutant guys but they just ignored him and continued to pester him about it. Once they finally got it through their heads that he wasn't a mutant, they'd tried to convince him to come anyways so he'd have place where he could learn control and be challenged and be around people like him. It had warmed his heart to know that there was a place out there like that. Even though he wasn't a mutant and didn't have to go through what they went through, he still got a lot of flames about his powers and how he wasn't human anymore and it was nice to know that if he really needed it he'd have somewhere to go. He knew that the Fantastic Four had been offered the chance to stay there as well (without the questions about potential mutant status) and that they reclined but would often go there for guest lectures on science stuff which was cool. Spiderman had stopped by a few rare times and taught some gymnastics and talked with the kids a little bit, but he'd never stayed for more than a day at a time or anything like that.

He didn't know how Daredevil stood with them, but he had overheard one of them saying something about knowing for a fact that he wasn't a mutant (they said that he was just some normal dude with awesome parkour skills, but Spiderman wasn't too sure about that, especially if his theory about Daredevil being Matt was correct).

Then Spiderman revised an earlier statement, the X-men probably didn't know that Kid Flash wasn't a mutant. That was what this was probably about. Noticing that Wally was still confused, Peter whispered the identity of the people in the jet and his theory about why they were there in his ear. When Daredevil's head twitched towards him slightly, Peter almost crowed in delight. He shouldn't have been able to hear that if he didn't have super hearing, Peter was sure. And why else would he have super hearing if he wasn't blind (that was probably stretching it, but Peter didn't really care at the moment)?

Before Peter could properly react to his discovery, the jet finally landed and a group traipsed out. His eyebrows rose beneath his mask as a bunch of big players in the X-men tumbled out of the jet. He spotted Beast and Wolverine and Rogue and Iceman. Following them was Cyclops and Storm and, most surprising, Professor X. Why did they send such a huge force? Then Peter looked around him and realized they were probably playing it safe. They were potentially facing off against Kid Flash, Spiderman, Human Torch, and Daredevil. Plus, the more mutants they had, the more convincing they would be. Peter quickly pushed all of his thoughts away from his secret identity and anything to do with anyone else's secret identities despite knowing that it was probably useless because Professor X was an incredibly powerful telepath. It couldn't hurt to try though.

It was Professor X that spoke first, his voice as calm as it always was, "Hello there. We've come to talk to Kid Flash."

Kid Flash stepped forwards and Spiderman looked at him carefully. He seemed to trust them, but then again he trusted everyone. Kid Flash said, "'Sup?"

Spiderman watched as Wolverine rose and eyebrow and Rogue and Iceman snickered quietly. Professor X wore an amused smile and he continued, "We wanted to express our offer for you to come to my school. It's a safe haven for mutants where you can continue your education and stay with kids your age who are like you. You can learn to control your powers and you can do so in a safe environment."

Kid Flash's voice was kind when he responded, "I think I've got pretty good control over my powers." He held up his hand and vibrated it quickly. Spiderman watched as it seemed to blur in the air and he couldn't really track where it was at each moment. Then the vibrating stopped and Wally continued, "And I'm going to a pretty good school already. Plus, I've got people my age who are like me with me right now." He gestured towards Human Torch and Spiderman who waved cheekily. Wally kept going, "And, finally, I'm not a mutant."

"Some people are in denial, choosing to believe that they are not mutants so they feel more… normal. We understand if that is how you feel, but some day you must face the truth." Storm replied, spreading her arms out in an encompassing manner. The others around her nodded encouragingly.

Wally seemed like he was about to protest, but Wolverine spoke first, "Why can't you just look at his brainwaves or whatever or read his mind and see if he's a mutant or not? That'd clear things up nice and quick." He directed the question at Professor X and seemed very impatient about the whole thing, but that was the vibe Spiderman usually got from Wolverine.

Professor X's brow was furrowed as he looked at Kid Flash. He eventually admitted, "I am having a difficult time reading his mind."

Cyclops's voice was incredulous was he asked, "Seriously? Is he a telepath on top of being fast?"

Kid Flash answered for Professor X, "Nah, I'm not a telepath or whatever. It's just that it's not just my body that moves really fast. My thoughts move just as fast, if not faster than my body. He's having a hard time separating the words. I'm told my thoughts all blur together and so only really the emotion or base idea gets through to the person trying to read it. I can't slow my mind down though, so sorry. No mind reading for you." He answered with an air of someone having to explain that before and Peter remembered Wally telling him something about explaining the same thing to Martian Manhunter's niece at some point.

The X-men looked impressed and Beast asked curiously, "How fast do you think?"

"I'm not sure there's a way to quantify that, but, well I can take in a scene in an attosecond and I can react within a femtosecond. I know my brain works faster than a super-computer. Aside from that, I'm not really sure how fast I think. It all seems normal for me and everyone just seems slow." Kid Flash answered honestly. Peter could tell that he wasn't trying to brag at all; he was simply stating the facts. Spiderman was personally impressed. He recognized those terms and that meant that Kid Flash thought fast, like, seriously fast.

The expressions of the other people in the field who understood the times mentioned showed how impressed they were as well and they all stared at Wally in disbelief. He, of course, couldn't see it, but he told Peter that sometimes he can practically feel people's gazes on him and he blamed it on Bat training. Peter had just laughed. Professor X was the first to react, saying calmly, "That's quite interesting Kid Flash. I am still under the impression that you might be a mutant without even realizing it. It is very rare for someone to have powers like yours and have it not be attributed to being a mutant." Spiderman, Human Torch, and Daredevil shifted awkwardly where they stood. They were all super-powered beings who weren't mutants. Apparently it wasn't as rare as they believed.

Peter could tell that Kid Flash was getting fed up as he said, "I'm not a mutant. Jeez, Daredevil hounding me about it already was enough. I'm not a mutant."

Rogue's sweet southern accent asked kindly, "Are you sure though?"

Cyclops added, "What do you have against mutants anyways that you're so adamant about not being one?"

Kid Flash growled out, "I am absolutely sure. I have nothing against mutants, but I know what I am and I am proud of it. I am not a mutant."

"So what are you?" Iceman asked innocently, looking at Wally with big eyes and a curious tilt of the head.

Peter winced to himself as Wally let out a huff. Apparently he'd had enough and was willing to give away a secret to stop getting asked the question (Peter wasn't sure when it was that he'd gotten so good at reading the person who had quickly become his best friend, but it came in handy during a fight). Wally spoke clearly as he said, "I am what is called a metahuman. A metahuman is different from a mutant and you won't find any other metahumans anywhere. I'm the last one left. Metahumans are like mutants with your x-factor, but we have the metagene that allows us to develop super powers after a traumatic experience. You guys develop your powers through natural means. Like, it just shows up. We have to go through something for ours to pop up. Mutants are different from metahumans and I am a metahuman and proud."

"You're the last of your kind?" Storm's voice was sad. Peter noticed Wally's jaw clench as he nodded. It had to have hurt to talk about it like that, especially when he mentioned being the last one. It wasn't far off from the truth. He was the only metahuman on this entire planet, in this entire dimension. He truly was all alone.

Professor X's voice was somehow softer than before, kind and gentle and fatherly, "My offer still stands regardless. We can give you a school and a home and family. We have a nice location and there would be plenty of room for you to run around. I know that you'd be happy there and you'd make friends. I'm sure we could even work out a way for you to, ah, patrol in Hell's Kitchen every night so you don't have to leave Daredevil."

Wally's voice was sad when he said, "I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline. You're offer is very nice and all, but I have a family and I have friends and a home and a school. There's plenty of space for me to run around and I've pretty much put down roots where I am." Spiderman knew how much it would have hurt his friend to say that. He honestly believed that if it wasn't for Matt (who the blind teen loved like another adoptive father) and for the SHIELD program, he'd have taken up the offer. He needed to work with SHIELD (although Peter thought that the X-men might actually be able to help him with the dimensional travel; the Fantastic Four could probably help too, but Wally was adamant on doing this by himself and not telling anyone else his secret) and there was no way they wouldn't notice Wally disappearing from the school to go to school at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. If they thought that he was a mutant, things could go very far downhill very fast for the blind speedster.

Professor X smiled and said, "Well then, feel free to visit whenever you want. These three know the way and I'm sure one of them could show you if you asked them." With a final nod of the head and a wave from the three non-X-men teens, the X-men left back into their jet.

A heavy silence settled over the clearing as everyone drowned in their own thoughts. Then Wally cleared his throat and managed to get out, "Anyone else for racing me through the obstacle course?"

Johnny stared at him as if he was wondering where his sanity ran off to and asked, "Are you serious? No one's gonna beat you!"

"Well I didn't mean that they'd race me once. I mean that they'd go around once and I'd go around a bunch of times. We figure out based off of the scores of the previous runs how many times faster I am than you guys and then we have that be the amount of times I run the course while you run it once. Then we see who wins." Wally answered a mite testily.

Daredevil announced in his gravelly voice, "I'll do it."

"Great!" Wally chirped, waiting for Peter to calculate how many rounds he had to do and then standing at the starting line with Daredevil walking to stand next to him.

Before anyone could get started, Johnny called out hesitantly, "Are you really the last of your kind?"

Wally faltered where he was lightly jogging (at normal human speed) in place and answered in a small voice, "Yeah."

Daredevil asked curiously but carefully, "Did you know the rest?"

Kid Flash's voice was even smaller when he responded, "Yeah, most of them."

"How did people not hear about them being… being… wiped-out?" Johnny winced as if that wasn't the term he was looking for.

Kid Flash bit his lip and answered quietly, a note of steel creeping in, "They were picked off one by one and it was supposed to look like 'accidents'." Peter knew that that was a lie and couldn't help but feel bad for Wally with all the lying that he thought he had to do. Didn't he know that he could trust all of them? Then again, Peter wasn't one to talk. He'd know Human Torch for over a year and still hadn't told him anything. Wally hadn't known anyone in this dimension for longer than a month.

Trying to get all of their minds off of depressing things, Peter called out, "Ready! Set! Go!" Spiderman and Human Torch watched as Kid Flash and Daredevil took off. Peter and Johnny's mouths dropped open in shock. Kid Flash was going way faster than the other times. He tore through the obstacle course, racing over things and through things and around things and generally being incredibly fast. He finished in half the time it took Daredevil to finish despite running it more times. That had been Daredevil's best run. They all stared at Kid Flash in shock.

Their shock was reflected back at them before Wally grinned brightly and said, "Ha! I'm getting faster! I was upset about all that and I run as fast as I can when I'm upset because, you know, it makes me feel better and I ran really fast! I bet my top speed's changed too! Wicked!" He jumped in the air and pumped his fist. The others couldn't help but laugh along with him. Peter almost thought that that was Wally's super power. He made everyone else's world light up whenever he was around. He brought his light to this dimension and everyone in it was thankful.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers meet (well, re-meet) Wally and people die. Loki shows up too.

TTTTTT

The op had been going great. Everything was working in their favor, but it wasn't perfect to the point that they worried it was a trap. Then Loki popped up. And Tony meant literally popped up. There was a trap door in the floor that sprung open for the god of mischief and magic to jump out of. Thor was mildly confused about how Loki was alive and also rather joyous about the fact. That is, until Rudolph started shooting at the team. They fought Loki and kept fighting him, but didn't seem to be winning.

After a few more minutes, they finally started to get the upper hand and then a huge missile looking thing popped up from another trap door. Those doors were really starting to get on Tony's nerves. They kept fighting and Cap tried to destroy the missile, but it shot out and hit him point blank. Tony would deny yelling, "No!" for the rest of his days, but the rest of the team were just as upset as he was. The Avengers turned to face Loki, but he just grinned and started to melt away. The whole building shimmered and disappeared until the only things that were left was the Avengers and the missile launcher.

Natasha ran to Steve and checked his vitals, breathing out, "He's alive." Bruce brought the quinjet around and motioned for everyone to get in. There was a moment of silence as everyone watched Steve's motionless form.

Then the communication link had opened up and Fury's face filled the screen. He took one look at the scene and gave them coordinates for a new building that had been designed as a SHIELD hospital and research center specifically for the Avengers (that no one decided to tell them about until now). It took them an hour to get there during which Rogers never woke up.

Tony and Thor dragged Steve along with them, loading him onto a gurney when someone finally wheeled one up to them. The nurses continued pulling him along, the Avengers following their fallen leader down the hallway. When they reached a door, the nurses told the team that they had to wait outside; that they couldn't come in. The doors were slammed shut and that was that.

A half an hour later, someone finally came out of the room. He looked to be fourteen or fifteen and had relatively pale skin dotted with freckles. He had short, unruly red hair and huge black glasses covering his eyes that marked him out as blind. He was wearing scrubs and had brought a first aid kit out with him. Thor stood quickly and boomed, "Is our friend alright?"

The kid turned in their direction and smiled. Tony let out a laugh of relief as the kid said, "Yeah, he'll be fine. We got him to wake up for a little bit; enough to do some of the tests and then he fell asleep, but we got what we needed." He paused and shuffled forward a little bit before continuing, "Sorry by the way for leaving you guys out here unattended. No one else seemed to figure out that you guys might be injured." He gave the impression that he would be rolling his eyes if he could.

"We're fine." Clint stated flatly, looking at the teen with mistrust. Truthfully, Tony was a little apprehensive about letting a blind kid be his doctor too.

The kid seemed to have figured that out since he huffed and moved to Thor. He said, "Hold out your arm for me." Thor didn't have any hesitation and just did whatever the redhead said. Eventually the kid spoke to the group again, still checking Thor out, "When Captain America was brought in, a doctor treated him while an assistant did the tests and two nurses helped out wherever someone needed them. I was the assistant. I think I am more than qualified to make sure you don't have a concussion or any broken bones, don't you?" He sounded like he was used to being underestimated and didn't really blame them, but was still frustrated by it at the same time.

Natasha elbowed Clint until the archer muttered an apology. The kid continued to check the team out until one of the nurses who had brought Steve into the room and slammed the door on them opened the door again and said politely, "You can all come in now. He's awake. His injuries were minimal although there was some foreign substance on his suit and in his wound that we've sent in for analysis. It doesn't seem to be negatively affecting him though."

Tony and the others moved into the room with no other thought, leaving the kid in the dust. Stark was pretty sure he heard the kid muttering swear words under his breath. The doctor looked up when they heard the door open and shut again and smiled at whoever came in. He called out, "Wally, have you finished checking out the rest of the Avengers?"

"No. They won't stop fidgeting and moving and they just up and left without getting the examinations finished." The red haired kid, Wally, grumbled.

The doctor (his name tag read: Dr. Knightly) laughed and said quietly, "I'm sure they're more than willing to be checked out now that they've seen that their teammate is alright." He was right about one thing. Capsicle was fine and sitting up in his hospital bed, talking to Natasha about something. Wally smiled at the doctor, an edge of mischief turning it into a smirk, getting to work on Clint without asking. Katniss looked mildly offended for a moment before ignoring him and turning to watch Captain America again. Tony chuckled to himself and looked at the man with a plan too.

They all talked and Wally finished checking them out, declaring that Natasha had a concussion and Thor had a sprained wrist. Doctor Knightly said that Natasha's concussion was mild enough to not be considered a threat and then patched up Thor's wrist. The kid had gone to work at a computer (Tony noticed it was one of those Braille ones, occasionally typing things and spending the rest of the time writing data down on his Braillewriter.

Tony heard someone smack someone else and turned around in surprise to see that Dr. Knightly had just whacked Captain America, the first Avenger, the world's hero upside his head apparently because he was trying to get out of the bed when he wasn't supposed to be. Wally's voice came from behind them sounding part amused and part chiding, "Don't smack the patients, Doctor."

"He was being irritating, Wally. I think he fully deserved being smacked. Next time he tries to leave the bed without permission, I'll give him a numbing agent right in his legs so he can't get up. Is that better?" Doctor Knightly asked, ruffling Wally's hair as he walked by. Wally hummed a yes in response, not really paying attention anymore. Tony started laughing at Steve's stricken expression.

They talked for about an hour more, just relaxing and playing games and teasing each other. The doctor had left the room earlier, grumbling something about a mandatory staff meeting that wasn't in the books. Wally had commented idly that it would probably be in the books if the doctor finally decided to get a book to record things like this in and the doctor had just glared at him. Tony actually thought that the little banter thing the two of them had going on was kind of cute (not that he'd admit to that).

Suddenly Wally was standing next to Tony, startling him out of his thoughts. "Cheek swab." Wally declared before casually swabbing Tony's cheek. The billionaire had been too surprised to react. His team members met the same fate, though, so Tony didn't feel so bad about it. Wally smirked in their direction before retreating to his computer again.

Then Barton turned and looked the teen again, looking him up and down. Everyone stopped talking as they noticed Hawkeye's actions, turning their own eyes on the kid. The assistant tilted his head towards them when the noise stopped, awkwardly holding the cheek swabs in one hand. "What?" He demanded.

Barton's eyes narrowed and he said slowly, "You look familiar to me."

Wally unfroze and shrugged, continuing on with whatever he was doing with the swabs, commenting over his shoulder, "If you've seen Doctor Knightly before, then you've probably seen me before since I go with him most everywhere. I don't go around the city much, though, since I'm here most of the time. You might have seen me at my… dad's work place although that's unlikely since he's a lawyer in Hell's Kitchen."

Clint nodded, apparently satisfied, but Tony wasn't, "No, I've seen you before too. I know it. And I also know I haven't seen the Doctor before. What's your full name?"

"None of your business." Wally's voice floated over his shoulder.

Tony put a hand to his heart in mock indignation and said, "None of my business? Everything is my business because I'm awesome! Come on, what's your name kid?"

Tony received a rather potent glare for someone who was blind and after a few seconds, the kid sighed and said, "Wally Rudolph Murdock. Happy now?"

"Actually my bodyguard is Happy, since, well, his name is actually Happy, but I'm satisfied that you answered my question, yes." Tony grinned. Wally West just sighed.

Steve spoke up, eyes light, "Stop messing with the kid, will you? He did help save my life earlier."

"I'll stop for now, but I'll start it up again when I figure out where I've seen him before." Stark announced as if he'd just done something amazing for the world. The rest of the team just rolled their eyes.

WWWWWW

Wally was starting to get nervous. How could they possibly still remember him from the Battle of New York when he had been wearing his suit and it was seven months ago? Back in his dimension, he hadn't really had any problem with people accidently recognizing him since most of the people who spent lengthy amounts of time with him in suit knew his real name anyway. Plus there was, of course, the fact that he was blind and superheroes generally aren't blind (he ignored the irony of living in an apartment with another blind superhero) and the fact that his hair had been black at the time. Still, even if he hadn't had the black hair dye, he was sure that the people he knew from school (like Bette and Maps and Sally and Linda and John) would never be able to recognize him in costume.

Wally sighed. Everything circled back to his dimension, didn't it? Sometimes when he was sleeping in his room at Matt's house (he might as well be calling it their house by now because it'd been seven months since his first day in this dimension and the two blind superheroes had become practically family), he would wake up and start to panic when he realized that Artemis wasn't in bed with him. Sometimes he would hear about a crisis and wait to hear about how the Justice League handled it. He missed his universe so much! Everything made sense there in a confusing way.

In his dimension, he didn't have to worry about waking a man on the other side of the house with the slightest noises he made during a nightmare. In his dimension, he didn't have to rely on people who didn't know anything about his past (other than Peter) to be his friends and family. Wally sighed, this wasn't getting him anywhere. This pointless thinking and wanting of the past was just going to get him down. So, he started to think of the good things this dimension had to offer.

There was a place that Matt had procured for them to train in (he thinks that it's a boxing place of some sort) so he could stay in shape for his crime fighting. He had found that huge tract of land a couple hundred miles out from the city where he could figure out his top speed and push it to be faster (he was still trying to find that top speed without accidently rushing into the speed force or going back in time or something). The SHIELD Medical and Research Labs (called MRL for short) gave him dinner for free every day if he wanted it. It was actually pretty good quality even if it didn't compare to the things that Matt and Wally prepared at home. The two of them were actually pretty good cooks and they had the constant supply of foodstuffs from his clients. The MRL gave him his own lab and office despite being only a part-time assistant (Doctor Knightly had given him that promotion after the first week and a half). He used the office to do homework and eat his food and he used the lab to research under the table about the situation that brought him to this dimension. MRL also paid him a decent amount of money, meaning he'd be able to start chipping in for rent so Matt could focus more of his money on his work.

Wally was broken from his line of thought when Stark yelled out, "Aha!" Kid Flash jerked up and tilted his head towards where the group of superheroes was. Stark continued after he had gotten everyone's attention, "I know where I've seen you before!" His arm waved at Wally, probably for extra emphasis.

Forcing his expression to stay neutral, he asked uninterestedly, "Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah!" Stark replied, "I was in Iron Man gear talking to a school and I remembered seeing some kid being forcibly brought into the assembly late, looking very dejected."

"I remember that. I was in the lab, playing with some PCR and running it on a gel. I had hid in the room so the teacher wouldn't see me. I hate going to assemblies, especially ones where people are trying to be motivating. She eventually realized that I wasn't with the class and went back to get me. No teacher's been that mad at me for a while since." Wally grinned, thinking on the moment fondly. Needless to say, she kept better track of her students during school wide meetings after that little stunt.

Stark laughed and said, "That's awesome, kid. I wish I had had that much gall when I was your age. Wait! I did!" Tony cackled at what he found to be a humorous statement and Wally would have rolled his eyes if he could.

Bruce asked politely from the other side of Steve's hospital bed, "What grade are you in, Wally?"

Wally tilted his head back at him and said, "I'm a senior."

Clint frowned and said, "You can't be more than fifteen or sixteen years old."

"I'm fourteen." Wally commented offhand, knowing that it would surprise them, but not really caring. He had already gone through high school once in his dimension and hadn't planned on spending any more time there than necessary. Doctor Knightly had already promised him a permanent job at MRL and proper training and credentials to get a job elsewhere if he didn't want to stay there forever. Wally had accepted without a second thought.

"Hey, did the doctor come back in while I was working?" Wally asked. He hadn't realized it before, but Doc Knightly should have been back by now. Mandatory staff meetings only took about thirty minutes at the longest. He'd been gone for at least an hour (at least, it felt like an hour to Wally; with his speedster mindset, it could have been five minutes).

The Avengers stood up, worry practically radiating out of them as Wally voiced his concerns out loud, "He wouldn't have left without checking on Captain Rogers one last time. Something's wrong."

"I'll check it out." Clint said; voice serious as he started to walk out the door. Natasha joined him without a second thought, the two of them working together without words. It was almost like hearing Batman and Robin working together, or Aquaman and Khaldur, or Green Arrow and Speedy, or even Flash and himself. It brought back bittersweet memories.

He heard Stark pressed some button and his suit started latching back onto him while Thor grabbed his huge hammer. Captain America pushed himself out of his bed and started getting his gear on and Wally sure wasn't going to stop him. Dr. Banner came to stand near Wally, probably looking worriedly at his friends.

After a few minutes where the only sounds were Iron Man shifting in his suit, the door swung open, lightly resting against the wall when Hawkeye leaned against it. The heartbeats of five people crowded silently into the room. Two of them Wally recognized as department heads, but he didn't know the names of them. The other three were Doctor Knightly, Director Fury, and Agent Hill. Wally always got a little nervous around those last two, afraid they would recognize him. Hawkeye and Black Widow crept into the room and quietly shut the door before turning back to the curious Avengers. Wally put a comforting hand on the doctor's shoulder and smiled in what was hopefully his direction.

Black Widow whispered, her voice carrying in the silent room, "There are some men in the hallways, searching for something. I found these five safe in the conference room, but we passed some dead bodies on our way there. I recognized the nurses from earlier, but I didn't recognize the other four." Wally's heart clenched at the words. He hoped against hope that Agent Blood and Agent Marcer weren't some of the dead; they'd become good friends with him in his time here and he didn't want to lose them. Black Widow continued, "These ones couldn't call in backup. The men appear to be wearing the same thing that the men were wearing at the warehouse." She must have been referring to the warehouse where Loki had knocked Captain America unconscious with the missile.

From next to him, Knightly smacked his forehead and whispered, "That's what it was! I'm so stupid!"

Everyone stared at the doctor in confusion until Wally smacked his own forehead at his stupidity. The foreign material they'd found on Captain America's suit must have been a bunch of miniscule trackers that were useless individually, but worked flawlessly when there were a bunch of them. The missile that hit the Captain must have deposited all of them on him. Wally whispered, "Someone had to have told him."

"Of course! But who? Anyone in the facility could have told him!" Dr. Knightly responded.

Fury whispered at them, "Someone better tell me what's going on right about now."

Dr. Knightly explained what he had figured out about the trackers and then said, "Someone in the facility had to have told Loki about the existence of MRL and also told him something about the work we've done here, but not the location of the building. Loki must have found interest in one of the experiments and decided that he would get it for himself. I think -,"

Wally tilted his head to the side before his mouth dropped in horror. He could hear the wind from the air condition blow around a long, curved thing that he was willing to bet was a sword. It had gone through one side of his body and out the other. Wally could hear the blood dripping and he heard the tear of skin and muscle and organs; it took everything he had to not puke at the overwhelming smell of blood. There was so much. Holding the weapon was… one of the department heads based on his heartbeat. The man pulled his sword back (Wally winced visibly at the sound it made, but he didn't care) and walked towards the front of the room. Wally grabbed an emergency kit and started working on the doctor, already knowing that it wasn't going to be enough; already knowing that he wasn't going to be able to save him.

The department head's voice was angled at Wally when he said, a smirk in his tone, "You and the doctor were quite right. I'm actually impressed by how quickly you figured it out." The man's form started to shift and shiver and Wally heard the way that the wind changed how it moved around the man. He'd only experienced the wind doing that with M'gann and J'onn. That meant that the department head just changed into another form. He continued, "I am Loki. I found Mark Standford, the man I was masquerading as, a few days back and forced him to tell me what he did for SHIELD. When I found out about this new research facility, I had to know more, so I tortured him and found out about a certain research project and I wanted it. He wouldn't tell me where it was, though, so I killed him and planned everything out until we got to this point. All I had to do was plant the trackers on a member of the Avengers and follow them here. Once I got here, I cleverly disguised myself as Mark coming back from vacation as soon as I got the coordinates. I was able to get in easily and I snuck into the faculty meeting, just listening until I was sure the person who headed the research I was interested in was here. Then I gave the order for my men to come in and kill everyone they found. And they found everyone." There was an arrogant, easy tone to his voice that reminded Wally of Lex Luthor, just, well, with godly powers.

Captain America shouted at him, "Why now? Why do this now?"

Loki said proudly, "I didn't like Doctor Knightly. He was too smart for my liking and I didn't want him messing with my plans. Also, I needed the boy to be here to show me where all of his research was." The god's voice turned to Wally, who was still furiously working on the doctor, his hands and his clothes all covered in the feeling of blood. The god added at the end, "Besides, I like an audience."

Wally heard all of it, but was paying more attention to the dying man in his arms. Finally, the doctor whispered, "Don't bother with me, Wally. I wouldn't last much longer even if you were the best doctor in the world. I just wanted to say that I've loved the time I've spent with you as my apprentice. You remember I told you about my wife? And our child? Our son couldn't have children of our own. You're the grandson I never had and you were perfect. Keep being perfect, child. Will you promise an old man that?"

Wally leaned his forehead against the doctor's and whispered back, "I promise. I'll miss you."

The doctor's voice held a smile and he said, "I'll get to meet my lovely wife beyond the grave, so don't be feeling too bad for me. Goodbye Wally." And then he died, going limp in Wally's arms. The secret speedster hugged him before letting him gently onto the ground, remembering another old man being reunited with his wife, leaving his life of magic behind him.

Wally stood up and gave his best version of a Bat glare (more of a Bat expression on him really) at Loki, hearing the Avengers drifting closer together between him and the Asgardian. He spat out, "What research were you so interested in that you would kill innocent people for it?"

Kid Flash felt Fury give him a sidelong look, but it ignored it as anger bloomed in his chest along with the smirk that blossomed in Loki's voice. The god responded, "I was so interested in your research into atmospheric holes."

Wally paled. He had been using that as a guise to research the events that brought him to this dimension. Was there any way that this evil man had somehow found out about his dimension jumping and now wanted in on it? Wally couldn't give him the chance to go to his old dimension. He didn't want this freak messing with his friends. The god continued, "I see you know what I'm talking about. Where is it?"

"It's spread around the compound. I have notes wherever I was testing something. Why are you so interested in this theory?" Wally stalled. He didn't want to risk betraying his alter ego to the people with him and even if he wanted to, there wasn't enough space in the room to get a good speed going without running into/through a wall.

He heard Loki tilt his head as if he were trying to figure out if Wally really didn't know what his own research could lead to or not, but then he said delightedly as if he hadn't just killed or ordered the killing of innocents, "Oh I like you. You know exactly why I want your research, but you almost had me thinking that you were a fool. We could work together, you know; develop the theory together." He sounded almost hopeful and Wally wanted to puke.

"Do you really think that I would want to work with the man who just murdered the man I looked up to as a mentor and a friend?" Wally demanded. He felt rather than heard Agent Hill give a sigh of relief next to him. He wanted to snarl at her for thinking he would ever join this homicidal maniac, but that would bring said homicidal maniac's attention to her and no one wanted that.

Loki sighed theatrically and said, "Well, I guess I'll just have to take your research and figure it out myself then. Where is it?" His voice had turned frosty at the end and the mood changes and magic reminded Wally of the witch boy Klarion.

"You aren't going to get his research, Rudolph." Stark stepped forward confidently and put one of his hands in front of him, the sound of a weaponized propulsion mechanism whirring to life filling the room. The others soon joined in behind him. Fury, Hill, and the other department head all raised guns at him. Captain America held his shield like a Frisbee. Barton held up his bow and Natasha raised two electric batons. Banner just stood near the bed and Wally could hear bones shifting slightly. Not enough for full-out Hulk mode, but enough to threaten it. Wally just stood behind them and took a step back. Into a grown man who then grabbed Wally around the neck.

The teen let out a strangled yelp which he wasn't proud of, but still got the attention of the others. Loki just smirked again. "Wally!" Stark cried, but couldn't get to him since the man Kid Flash ran into was now holding a gun to Wally's head.

Wally thought about his predicament. He knew that he couldn't be too fast because that would be suspicious, but he could add a little extra speed and blame it on adrenalin (worked like a charm). So, without further ado, Wally hooked his foot around the man's ankle and pulled forward, smashing his head back into the man's nose at the same time. He ducked quickly, the mixture of his duck and the kicking/smashing knocking the gun away from his head long enough to get out from under the man's other arm. Wally turned quickly, going down in a crouch but keeping one leg straight, which he used to knock the man over. The speedster punched the man in the stomach hard enough for him to curl over. Wally took advantage of the man's fetal position to tie his hands behind his back with some spare zip ties in a nearby drawer.

When he stood up and turned back to the people crowded into the room, he was met with various sounds that showed emotions going from amused to bemused to just confused. He listened to the struggling man and turned back to the agents (and Loki) and shrugged. After a moment, Stark's helmet moved up and down with a few whirs and clinking and then he turned back to the god of mischief and magic… who had disappeared. Wally couldn't hear his heartbeat in the room or anywhere near the room anymore. That actually wasn't good. It either meant that he had found something else that he deemed more worthy of his attention, or it meant that he had found something here that he wanted to think further on and Wally didn't like that idea any better.

Before anyone could take a breath of relief, though, Fury rounded on Wally, "Why was he so interested in your research?"

Most of the time, Kid Flash would have made an effort to at least slightly respect his elders/boss, but he really wasn't in the mood right about then, "If you don't mind, I'm going to go wash Doctor Knightly's life blood off of my hands and change into some new clothes. Actually, I don't care if you mind or not, I'm going to do it anyways. You can get that man that just attacked me out of this room and decide what to do with him." Then he turned and stalked away towards the bathroom adjacent to the room.

TTTTTT

Tony watched the poor kid stomp away and looked back at the body of the kid's mentor on the ground. Next to him, Steve grabbed a hospital bed sheet and rearranged the doctor's body before gently placing the sheet over him. They were all silent as they waited for Wally to come back. Agent Hill and the department head had tased the tied up dude and dragged him into the interrogation room. Bruce had asked in confusion, "You have an interrogation room in a medical and research facility?" Fury had just nodded.

Finally, the ginger walked back in, his hands clean and his scrubs gone. He was wearing a faded red shirt and a worn out, distressed (not purposefully) pair of jeans. Oddly, he had a very nice, expensive pair of shoes made for the best runners. The kid didn't seem as if he'd been crying, but Tony couldn't really tell with the glasses. There was an awkward pause where no one spoke up until Rogers took the initiative and said tentatively, "We really do need to know why he was so interested in your research, Wally."

The teen sighed and his shoulders slumped, "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I snapped at you. There wasn't any excuse for that."

Tony's eyebrows rose and he asked incredulously, "No excuse? What do you mean no excuse? You had plenty of reason to snap! Someone you obviously cared about was just killed in front of you and you just had a gun pointed to your head a couple of minutes ago! Any average person would have broken down and cried long ago. I think you have plenty of leeway for a little snapping." Wally gave Stark a small, grateful smile before he started to shuffle papers together, grabbing things here and there and putting them into a large duffel bag (Stark was impressed that Wally knew what to grab, but then he noticed that he was grabbing all the sheets with Braille on them).

Wally spoke softly, "I'll tell you about my experiments, but not in here." His head tilted a little in the direction of his boss and he seemed to shudder before continuing, "I have everything I need with me now and I'll tell you why I think Loki was so interested." He led the way out of the room. As he passed the threshold of the door, Natasha put her hand on his back and smiled at him. He leaned into the touch slightly and it broke Tony's heart to see someone so young be so broken.

Eventually, they found a conference room and they all sat at the table with Fury at one end and Wally at the other. Wally started talking, "As he mentioned, the experiments have to do with holes in the atmosphere, but I'm not talking about normal holes like the one they think is starting to form in the ozone layer. I've found barely noticeable folds in the Mesosphere. My theory is that the folds formed when a hole was punctured in the atmospheric layer and they didn't want anything else to get through. The Mesosphere would have then folded so nothing could get through." He used his hands for effect, starting to sound more upbeat and interested as he talked about something he was obviously passionate about, but his voice still held notes of grief and anger in it.

Steve asked, barely keeping up, "What would come through?"

This is where the kid started to look a little concerned and it was obvious that this was what Loki was really interested. Fury growled, "Spit it out, kid."

Wally chewed the inside of his lip momentarily before nodding and continuing, "I believe that the holes are actually doorways leading between dimensions. We have a fold in the Mesosphere on our side; the other dimension would have a small, puckered line on their side. The fact that Loki's interested means that there's probably some merit to the idea."

"What made you even think about this in the first place?" Banner asked, sounding extremely impressed with the kid's thought process. Truthfully, Tony was pretty impressed himself.

The kid ran a few fingers over a ring he was wearing before his hand darted to his pocket. Stark was starting to realize that this was a tell for the kid. It meant he was nervous. Romanoff and Barton seemed to notice it too because they both sat in more alert positions. Then Wally answered, "I was in New York when the aliens attacked. The portal in the sky probably didn't open to another dimension if Loki is interested in researching the idea of interdimensional traveling, so it opened to another spot in the universe, almost like a z-. Um. The fact that it opened up in the sky started me thinking about why in the sky and why not to the side of the machine or something. Obviously it would be a bit harder to fit the creatures through if it was to the side, but not if it hung over the edge of a building, which, since Loki seemed to have always been planning on setting it up at Stark Tower, it would have been hanging off a building. So that still left the question of why up in the sky? The only answer I could think of is that it's easier. It must have had something to do with the atmosphere that led to the decision to shoot the portal up. Then came the next question: why did it stop where it stopped in the atmosphere? It had hit a low hanging part of the Mesosphere that I was researching to help out one of the volunteers with their thesis. The work I've done helping him led me to my dimensional theory." He seemd as if he was trying to remember if he missed something before nodding to himself and turning back towards the group.

Thor and Captain America just looked very confused, probably having lost the kid after the doorway comment. Clint and Natasha looked as if they were confused, but trying to hide it by not saying anything until it moved into a conversation they understood better. Fury didn't really seem to care and expected Tony and Bruce to understand for him. Tony was about to compliment the kid, but then Fury spoke, "Alright, you're going to be under the Avenger's protection until we can either capture Loki or get him uninterested in the research. Iron Man and Captain America are going to go to your home with you to grab a bag of essentials and then you're going to go live at the Avengers Tower under the Avenger's protection. Your parents will be informed of the situation as will your school. You will still be able to go to school, but you will have SHIELD agents watching you at all times. You will not come back here so I recommend collecting anything you have here and taking it with you. While you stay at the Avengers Tower, you are going to give Stark and Banner your research and they're going to dig deeper into it."

Stark winced; the kid seemed a lot like him and if someone had told him that, he would have blown up at them. Wally seemed as if he didn't know what he was more upset about. He spluttered, "Excuse me?!" He didn't wait for anyone to respond before continuing, "First and foremost, they are not getting my research! I have personal things mixed into my personal research. And don't you dare try to say that technically you own it because it says in the agreement I signed upon starting work here that if my work is cleared by my direct superior in writing as personal research then it is my intellectual property and you can't go near it if I don't want you to. And it was cleared by my direct superior, so it is my intellectual property."

The teen took a breath and Stark took a moment to find glee in the expression on Fury's face. He looked like he had no idea what to do with himself. Then Wally continued, "Secondly, I can take care of myself well enough! I don't need to surround myself with a bunch of so-called heroes and put them in danger just to protect this stupid research! Plus, if you seem to think that I need to move into the Avengers Tower to stay safe because, apparently, where I live isn't safe enough, that means that my, uh, dad isn't safe where he is either and I know for a fact that he won't leave Hell's Kitchen and his job to come live in the Tower and be protected. There's a simple solution to all of this: I could just destroy the research. There, problem solved."

Fury stared at him with a flat expression before saying, "No."

"Um, must I bring up the intellectual property thing again, because I will." Wally responded.

Fury just looked at him again and said, "Iron Man and Captain America will accompany you to your home and you will grab a bag of your belongings and live at Avengers Tower for the foreseeable future. Your father will be notified of all of this as Iron Man and Captain America are taking you home and it will be recommended that he find somewhere else to stay for a while. You will work with Iron Man and Dr. Banner on your research and try to dig deeper into it with them. I'll brief Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Thor and they'll meet you back at the Tower. Is this understood?"

The kid's hand flickered to his ring and back to his pocket again, but eventually he nodded, his expression becoming hard. Tony winced. He felt bad for the kid. He was just getting bad things piled on top of bad things in his life and it probably sucked. Tony pressed a button and his suit quickly came undone before flying back to the tower. The Captain just took his helmet/mask thing off and tucked it into his pocket. The two Avengers stood just behind Wally as he marched out of the room, looking very upset.

They made it back to the room they had been in originally and waited quietly while Wally packed some more things into the duffel bag with his research. Someone, presumably Hill, had moved the doctor's body, but there was still an ominous red spot where he had been lying. Wally avoided going near the spot. They then went to another lab and the adjoining office where he packed another duffel bag and grabbed the two, walking out into the hallway. Eventually, Wally grumbled, "I'm ready to go."

"So," Tony started. The kid tilted his head up at him, anger still coloring his features, "What'd you use to get here? I can either send for it to be picked up later, or if it's big enough, then we can all take it back to your place."

Wally sighed and said tiredly, "Agent Marcer drives me from school to here and from here to home in a company car, but according to Loki, everyone is dead, including her." He shrugged and went back to tilting his head dejectedly at the floor (can one tilt their head dejectedly).

Tony pursed his lips and said, "So I'm going to call Happy to come pick us up in the limo." Before Wally could protest, Stark was already calling his bodyguard. Stark noticed that Wally muttered something about all billionaires being the same under his breath. That was kind of an odd comment, but he ignored it. They stood in silence until Happy came with the car.

When Wally slid into the back seat, his expression seemed kind of wonder filled and he touched the seats almost reverently. Tony knew then and there that this kid was a car fan and that they were going to get along great. Stark slid in next to him and Captain America got into the seat across from them. Wally told Happy the address and they all settled into their seats for the ride. Once again, the wait was silent.

Happy stopped a long while later and said, "We're here. You guys want me to come up with you?"

Wally's voice was monotone when he answered, "No, thank you." He mechanically got out of the car and slouched into the apartment, Steve and Tony following close behind. Tony glanced around the place and noticed that it really wasn't in the best of conditions. It wasn't anything particularly bad, it was just that, well, he used to the high end of luxury and this was most certainly not the high end of luxury.

The blind kid's cane (Tony hadn't even noticed it before now, but it was actually really cool) hit a door and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a key before fitting it into the lock and calling out, "Matt, I'm home!"

Tony took a second to wonder at the fact that Wally called his dad by his first name (at least, he assumed it was the kid's father he was calling), but then he was distracted by looking out the window. His voice betrayed his horror as he let out, "Jesus! How can you stand that thing there?"

Wally kind of gave a little crooked, sad half-smile and said, "You've spotted the billboard, I'm sure. I'm told that it's quite awful but it doesn't really bother Matt and I." Tony quickly got his answer of why it wouldn't bother Matt either. A man came into the room, dark glasses covering his eyes and worry contorting his face. So Matt was blind too. That had to be interesting.

Matt walked over to Wally quickly, his fingers ghosting over the edge of the couch as he passed it. He pulled the boy into a small hug and asked worriedly, "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine." Wally responded wearily. It was obvious that he was emotionally exhausted.

The blind adult frowned but seemed to accept his words, moving on to a different subject, "They didn't tell me much. They only said that you need to leave immediately and that I should pack some things into a few bags for you, enough for at least several weeks. They said that you wouldn't be returning to work and that I should leave the house for a while too."

"You have somewhere to go, right?" Wally asked, concern leaking into his voice.

Matt nodded, responding, "Foggy said he'd let me live at his place and I can always just live at the office if I for some reason can't stay with him. Will you be alright? Do they know about your condition?"

Steve's voice put a halt to their talks as he asked seriously, "What condition?"

Even without functioning eyes, Matt gave Wally a rather scathing look before turning slightly towards the two Avengers before saying, "He had von Gierke's disease. It basically means that he has to eat constantly. They say every 1 to 3 hours a day, but he has a rather extreme case of it, so I try to feed him every hour and a half or so."

"I can feed myself just fine." Wally announced irritably from where he had apparently slipped off into what was probably his room. He was most likely grabbing the suitcases that Matt had packed. His voice washed over them again as he was rolling the suitcases back with him, "And I'll be fine there. I'll do my best to stay out of trouble, okay? I'm still going to school and all that too, so we don't have to worry about that either."

Matt smiled for a second and ruffled Wally's hair before his smile dimmed a little and he asked quietly, "Seriously Wally, are you alright?"

Wally's voice was just as quiet as he admitted, "Dr. Knightly was killed today and they think Agents Blood and Marcer were too. They're gone."

Tony's heart ached as Matt and Wally said goodbye to each other. This kid had just lost his mentor and would now have to leave his father and he obviously didn't want any of this to be happening. He was being pushed around by people he didn't know and being threatened by a psychopathic god. The teen had to pick up everything and move because he was in danger. How horrible would that be? Tony resolved that he was going to make Wally's stay at the Tower one of the best times of his life. Tony was going to make it perfect.

It took about an hour to get to the Tower. It was a mostly quiet ride with the only conversation being between the Cap and Wally about some things that Wally should expect at the Tower. It didn't take long for Wally to set up his things in his room, but he told them that he didn't want to eat that night and that he was just going to bed. Everyone nodded to him and headed off to their own little safe havens in the Tower.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers are adorable and so is Peter.

WWWWWW

Doctor Fate's human host said his last words and Wally hung his head. He hadn't been able to save the incredible man. The speedster carefully put the old man's watch back into his hand, folding his rapidly cooling fingers onto the smooth metal. Then Wally stood up and turned towards Klarion, ignoring the force field he could feel around them. Reaching up, the teen pulled Doctor Fate's helmet onto his head, spiraling into nothingness.

When he could sense things again, there were two men standing next to each other. Kent Nelson stood leaning on his cane in his fine suit while a figure of shadows in the shape of a man holding a clipboard stood next to him. Somehow Wally knew it was Doctor Mitchell Knightly. Wally had been able to see Kent Nelson when he was trapped inside of Fate's helmet. The man was the only person Wally had fully seen since losing his eyesight and it had been one of the most beautiful things in the world. Wally was able to see what was occurring outside of the helmet too and he had watched as Doctor Fate fought Klarion, the only other person he'd seen even though he only caught glimpses of the witch boy. That sight was one of the things that Doctor Fate had mentioned when he was trying to keep control over Wally's body. But, back to the dream. The two men were talking. Wally didn't want to interrupt them, so he just listened.

"-failed me." Kent Nelson was saying.

Dr. Knightly nodded sagely and said, "Yeah, the kid didn't save me either. He should have figured it out sooner. He should have known that Standford wasn't the real guy, that he was Loki in disguise. He should have learned more from me, picked up on more things. Then he would have been able to save me despite my wounds. He failed me too."

Wally had a sinking feeling in his gut, but he asked anyway, needing to know, "Who? Who failed you?"

The two faced him and opened their mouths to speak at the same time. Instead of their voices, however, it was Artemis's that came out, "It was you Wally. You failed all of us. How could you have messed up so bad? Why did you leave me? Why haven't you come home?" Wally was distantly aware of tears streaming down his face, but at that point, he didn't care. Artemis was hurting and he just wanted to make her feel better, to make her happy.

The blackness that surrounded them shifted and he suddenly sensed that he was standing on a beach and he could hear a rocket about to go off behind him. Nightwing was fighting off some of Manta's goons and Superboy was destroying missiles before they hit the rocket. He could hear M'gann's heartbeat muffled by water. That sinking feeling in his gut took residence again and Wally turned around, sensing Artemis. Wally recognized this scene. Nightwing had told Wally an exact play by play of what had happened at Cape Canaveral and it had broken the speedster's heart even though he knew it wasn't real, that Artemis didn't get hurt. The teen whispered brokenly, "No."

This time, however, it was different. Aqualad was dead on the ground (Wally could smell him, but there wasn't any heartbeat) and Artemis wasn't fake dying. Wally himself had phased his hand through her chest and right into her heart. Wally heard his own heartbeat near his love's and he heard the hand vibrating and the horrible squelching, ripping sound it made when it went into her chest. The speedster ripped his hand out and sped away. Wally ran towards the love of his life and fell to the ground next to her. Her head turned towards him, her throat making clicking noises and blood pooling around them and on Wally and dribbling down her chin and then she was opening her mouth, but it wasn't her speaking. Why wasn't it her speaking? All he wanted was to hear her voice again. He started listening and it was Barry's voice that was talking and he was saying, "Why did you have to be so slow, Kid? All of this would have been fine if you just hadn't been so slow. It's all your fault! Everything is your fault! How could you do this to Artemis? To me? Aunt Iris? Bruce? Your siblings? Impulse? The Rogues? The Team? How could you do this?"

Wally whimpered, "I didn't mean to! I didn't choose this!"

Suddenly he was in the Hall of Justice (the unique ringing noises of the echoes of his voice bouncing in the exact way it always did when he was at the Hall of Justice) and Dick's voice accused him, "You did choose this! You would have been faster if you hadn't been such a wimp and left the Team! Instead, you chose to leave, something about not being able to handle fighting near me, and let other people get hurt because you were selfish and stupid and you don't really care about us. Are we all just puppets to get what you want Wally? Are you just using us?"

"No!" Wally shouted, desperately trying to move towards Nightwing, maybe to shake some sense into him, but he couldn't move. Why couldn't he move? He could always run and be free and go wherever he wanted, but now he couldn't move! He was having a hard time breathing and he just needed to run. Wally shouted again, "I love you guys! I would never use you! It wasn't selfish to want to stop. I didn't want anyone to get hurt if I freaked out! I could have messed up a mission that way!"

Impulse's voice bled through the scene, mocking as it said, "That didn't work so well did it? Not when you failed so badly with the MFDs. What were you thinking trying to help? Anyone could have done it better than you! You failed!"

Barry's voice chimed in again, running circles around him, "You failed, Wally! You failed! You failed!"

Suddenly they were circling the crystallized MFD and Wally was falling behind and lightning kept hitting him and hitting him and hitting him and it hurt worse than when he was struck by lightning and knocked into a wall of chemicals. It hurt worse than any of the beatings he'd received over the years being Swift and then Falcon. It hurt worse than any words anyone could say. It hurt and it hurt and it hurt and it hurtandithurtandithurtandithurtandithurt and he was screaming and screaming and screamingscreamingscreamingscreamingSCREAMING!

Wally jolted awake, covered in a sweat that he could only accumulate after running hundreds of miles or being trapped in a particularly bad nightmare. He lay in his bed, trying to get control of his breathing. One hand kept him steady on the bed and the other wiped his face, trying to get rid of the traitorous tears mixed in with his cold sweat. The speedster tried to calm down and go back to sleep, but then he heard the voices of everyone he loved, mocking him, their voices intertwining with people who hated him (his father, his mother, Joker, Vandal Savage, so many more), so he opened them again and got up. He quietly took a shower and changed into some workout clothes, his glasses firmly on his face and his ornate cane in his hand, because he might as well take advantage of this time since he wasn't going to be going back to sleep any time soon. Besides it was only… six in the morning according to JARVIS when Wally asked which actually wasn't as early as it felt like.

The teen sighed again and started walking down the stairs to the common floor. He had been waking up like this two or three times a week since he started living with the Avengers and his body was adapting to it, which was probably bad. With getting up at seven every morning to go to school and getting to sleep anywhere between twelve and three every night because he was out saving people and protecting the city, he wasn't getting much sleep in the first place. When nightmares woke him up and hour or two after falling asleep most nights of the week, he really needed some rest.

Wally didn't think he'd ever be able to sleep properly again without Artemis by his side. That line of thinking was stopped cold when he walked into the kitchen area to hear six (apparently sleepy based on their conversation) Avengers arranging breakfast… at six in the morning. After two weeks in the Tower, this was not concerning, but still a little weird. Only Steve regularly woke up this early (although Tony sometimes never went to sleep and Wally wasn't sure if that counted).

Kid Flash brought one hand up to rub his face and asked Tony (who was closest), "Dude? What are you all doing up so early?"

They all froze and turned towards him. He just rubbed at his face, yawning, still shaking off the daze of his nightmares. Steve finally said, "We're making breakfast."

"I can smell that." Wally muttered grumpily, "Why are you doing it at six in the morning?"

"Um," Bruce started, "It's the first day of spring break today and we wanted to make do something special since this is your first spring break with us and, well, since you like all foods, the only obvious option was making you everything. And that takes a little bit of time to make, so we got up early. Surprise?"

For a moment, Wally didn't know what to say (which he would admit was an achievement). On the one hand, these relative strangers had taken the time to try to make his life here special and learned enough of his eating habits (not that hard to learn, but still) to surprise him today, but on the other hand, this was what Alfred always made him for breakfast on special occasions and that made him feel unbearably nostalgic, especially after his latest bout of dreams. Wally decided to let the excited grin cover his face and just beamed at the team. They laughed back, seemingly extremely proud of themselves.

Natasha called over her shoulder from where she was making the pancakes, "So, kid, what are you doing up so early? We may not know much about teens, but I'm pretty sure this isn't healthy or normal behavior."

Wally just shrugged at them and commented lightly, "Couldn't sleep." That was pretty accurate, so he didn't feel bad about lying. It always made Wally feel bad when he made up excuses for where he went during the nights. Sometimes Tony would come into Wally's room late at night to show off some knick knack or another, which was weird that the grown man came to the teenager to show off instead of someone else but whatever, and he always got quite the surprise when the teen wasn't there and JARVIS couldn't tell him where he went which was the convenience of having Bat training in hacking. On those few nights Wally had just told him that he was somewhere else in the house and JARVIS just must have had a glitch or something like that.

Steve's head turned slightly so he was looking over his shoulder and probably glancing worriedly at the teen, "Nightmares?"

Wally silently cursed Rogers's uncanny ability to figure out the root of people's problems (even though that was a pretty good thing for a leader) and nodded silently. Most of the rest of the Avengers paused in their work and turned towards their charge. Wally shrugged again and said quietly, "It's no big deal. They're not that bad." That was a blatant lie, but he was hoping that no one called him on it.

Apparently Clint didn't care whether or not Wally wanted to make a big deal out of it because he said, "What was the nightmare about?"

For a moment, Wally considered brushing it off or making something up, but then he remembered Aunt Dinah and how cathartic her meetings had been and how things always seemed to make more sense after talking to her. His nightmares had gotten worse since moving in here and he couldn't talk to Peter much at school because of his SHIELD agent guard and he couldn't hang out at Peter's house to discuss things because he wasn't allowed to go anywhere but Avengers Tower and school and he was never sure how much of his phone calls were recorded. His shoulders slumped in defeat and he sat on a nearby stool, saying, "It was different moments in my life that I wasn't proud of, or that hurt me in some way, but they were different. All of the people in them were telling me that I failed them, that I did everything wrong. That it was my fault." He head continued to hang lower and he felt a cautious hand on his back and realized slowly that it was Tony.

Bruce picked up the conversation by asking, "What do they say was your fault?"

Wally chewed his lip, his hand flashing to his ring and then to his little booklet (which he always kept in his pocket) before he answered, "Mostly they say that their deaths were my fault. They say it was my shortcomings that killed them. And… I know that you should never blame yourself for something when it's not really your fault, but these were my fault. I got them killed!"

Thor spoke gently from where he was opening mounds of pop tarts so they would be prepped to put in the toaster, "Who are these people and why do you think you got them killed?"

"Doctor Knightly is one of them. I think it's pretty self-explanatory how I got him killed." They hadn't brought up the doctor since he'd been taken in two weeks ago.

There was a terse silence before Thor spoke again, "Young charge, you should not blame yourself for that. It was Loki's wrongdoings and his scepter that killed your friend, not you."

"Yeah well, Loki's wrongdoings and his scepter wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for my stupid research." Wally muttered sullenly before sitting up quickly, startling Tony. His sniffed the air and he called out, "Cookies!"

Tony quickly grabbed him and held him back and Wally practically whimpered. There were cookies right there and he was being denied them. His beautiful cookies! The Avengers were all laughing at his expense, telling him that he would have to wait to eat the cookies until they finished breakfast, but he didn't care as he fake pouted and sat back in his seat. He was finally starting to feel like he was on a team again despite the fact that, well, they didn't know anything about him. There was a companionable silence until Tony spoke up, never able to let a silence go, "So, you guys heard of that new kid on the block?"

"What do mean on the block? Is there a homeless person? Are you keeping track of the transient community?" Thor asked loudly from where he was making his portion of breakfast.

For a second, Tony just paused, probably staring at him as if trying to discern if he was being serious or not, but then the man shrugged and answered the questions, "New kid on the block just means that there's someone new in your given profession or school or neighborhood. I don't know if he's homeless and I don't keep track of the transient community." Thor just nodded, his 'oh' sounding a little overwhelmed. Wally snickered, reminded of Supey and M'gann.

Natasha called out, "SHIELD is looking into him. They think he's the same kid who saved you when you fell from the portal back in the battle of New York, but they have no solid proof. It's just a hunch at the moment."

"So," Thor began, "This person who saved the Man of Iron lives in our neighborhood?"

Wally snickered again (despite being concerned that they were already able to connect Falcon and Kid Flash and also being mildly impressed at their 'hunches') before answering his question, "Tony meant that the kid's a superhero since that's kind of your guys' given profession." Thor nodded and Wally was hit with déjà vu. He really reminded Wally of a happier version of Conner.

Tony picked back up again, "Yeah, what he said. So, apparently he can run ridiculously fast. It makes me wonder how he got his ability. Professor X and the other Mutants say that he isn't one of them, so his speed can't be explained away by the mutant gene." Stark paused, muttering something about remembering his name, but Wally was deep in thought. That line of thinking made him wonder if it was something specific about the metagene that caused the increase in all of his abilities and the decrease in age or if that would have happened to anyone. Was it his ability to tap into the Speed Force that allowed him to come here? Would one need that particular speed to get into another dimension or did it have to do with the concurring events of the MFD and Loki's portal? Just then, Tony smashed his head into the counter.

"Whoa!" Wally cried out and jumped back slightly, "What was that?"

Tony mumbled into the table, "I can't remember that kid's name!"

"Kid Flash?" Wally questioned hesitantly. Tony immediately made a sound of triumph and high-fived the teen, practically crowing his delight at 'remembering' the name.

Clint asked from beside Natasha, "You a fan?"

Wally ran a hand over the back of his neck and then through his hair before saying lightly, "Well, hometown pride and all that since he's protects Hell's Kitchen, but I, uh, ran into him once too." The others made small sounds of shock and Wally flushed slightly. It wasn't technically a lie since he had tripped over his own foot the a little while back. That counted, right? The story he was about to tell, however was a lie. Most superheroes who wanted to keep their identities a secret could talk about an instance where they met themselves in hero form. It made it worse when they finally told someone their secret, but it was worth it most of the time. He started talking, "I was coming back from school late one night, before the SHIELD thing, and I had gotten a couple streets down from the bus station when some muggers found me. They were trying to steal some money, but I didn't have any. Then Kid Flash ran in and knocked all the muggers out. He handcuffed them and called the police. He told me his name and insisted on walking me back to my place." Wally shrugged. It was a pretty believable story and there really wouldn't be a way to check if it was true. Well, they could see if the police arrested any muggers caught by Kid Flash near the bus station, but he really hoped that they just trusted his word on this. Three people (Matt, Foggy, and Peter) already knew his secret identity and he really wasn't eager for more people to know.

"Were you alright?" Steve's voice was lightly concerned and he paused his cooking for a moment to turn his head towards Wally as if he would be able to discern the injuries he had received all that time ago with that one glance.

Wally nodded, "Yeah I was fine. There were a couple of bruises and all that, but nothing really bad happened. He showed up before anything could happen." After that, the conversation mellowed out to more even conversation, talking about this and that. Clint and Tony were horrified at Wally's lack of music knowledge which apparently rivaled Captain America's (it wasn't his fault that he'd only been here seven months and he didn't exactly spend all that time trying to find out about all of the different bands and songs in this dimension). Steve found out that he liked to jog despite his disability and promised to take Wally with him sometime. Thor was pleased to find that he had a new listener to regale with his tales of bravery and glory from Asgard. Natasha found out that Wally wasn't doing so well in his English class (why does that class even exist when he should just be doing science and math and occasionally history because he had to know where he was going when he was running cross world) and swore that she'd tutor him into an A in the class. It was a great time and Wally felt well and truly relaxed.

An hour later, breakfast was ready. Wally was helping to set it out on the table when JARVIS announced a guest. Wally froze; a guest?

PPPPPP

Peter was so glad that he wasn't late. This was, like, the first time he'd ever arrived on time for an event that Tony was throwing. He always made it on time for work itself, but whenever Tony invited him to just hang out with him or some/most/all of the team, he ran late. He had the strangest feeling that Natasha judged it for him. She had this judging face on whenever he came near. It might just be him overreacting, but it was seriously concerning. Peter sighed as he waited for the elevator to bring him to the Avengers Family Floor as Tony called it. The secret superhero was pretty sure Tony was the only one who called it that. It was weird calling his boss Tony, but the man insisted until Peter finally got it right.

As the elevator started sliding into the correct floor, Peter's enhanced hearing picked up on the sound of JARVIS announcing a visitor to the people on the floor. The smells that peaked through the elevator doors told him that there was an amazing breakfast waiting. Finally, the doors opened and Peter stepped out, smiling shyly into the room. Then he froze.

In hindsight, it really should have occurred to him. He absolutely should have known that Wally would be there that morning since it was a team breakfast and Tony had said something about celebrating the beginning of spring break and well, Wally was going on spring break too. So he really shouldn't have been as shocked as he was. If anything, Wally should have been the one who was surprised, but he didn't seem to react to it and Peter belatedly realized that he couldn't outwardly react to Peter coming in because, as far as these people knew, there was no way for him to tell who it was that just walked onto the floor.

Tony startled Peter out of his trance, calling out, "Hey, you just going to stand there or are you going to come over here and eat?"

Peter blushed a little bit and stumbled over his answer, walking awkwardly into the room, sitting down in an empty chair (which put him next to his friend) and setting his messenger bag down, "Uh, sorry Tony. I was just, um, I was surprised to see Wally here. I guess I just, I didn't know he was, er, here." He realized that, to them, it would make sense if he didn't know that Wally had been relocated here. The only time Wally had gotten a chance to really talk to him was the few times that he would leave Daredevil to patrol alone and would come and join Spiderman's patrol instead. It was kind of frustrating to talk so little, but they worked around it pretty easily.

He saw the surprise flit over Steve's face for a moment before it morphed into curiosity, "You two know each other?"

"We go to school together. We're in different grades, but we sit together during lunch and assemblies and stuff. I met him on the first day of school." Wally answered easily, piling everything within his reach onto his plate. The Avengers just smiled indulgently at him and rolled their eyes. Peter was glad that they seemed to like the blind kid. His life was already miserable enough with all of the bad things that had come his way; the last thing he needed was being stuck in a building with people who didn't like him.

Tony snorted, "It must suck to be in a lower grade than your younger friend."

"Wow, thanks. Rub it in. Why don't you add some salt and make it really hurt?" Peter asked dryly. Truthfully, it really didn't bother him that Wally was in a higher grade. He was pretty good at just being proud of his friends instead of envious of them and if he ever felt jealous, he just told himself that Wally was cheating with his brain that's faster than a supercomputer. He was cheating so it didn't count.

The group laughed and they all dug into their meal with relish, joking around and making fun of each other. Peter noticed that Wally was a little quiet and withdrawn, a slightly reminiscent expression on his face. A little bit of Peter's good mood dampened when he realized that Wally was probably thinking about his family or his team or something. He'd told Peter about having meals like this at home and how sometimes living with this many superheroes was hard because of how much it reminded him of his own dimension. It a little bit broke Peter's heart to see his friend in so much pain. He wouldn't let it get to him this time, though. Today he was determined to be happy. So Peter asked Wally, "How do you like the labs and stuff on the lower floors? Pretty cool stuff, yeah? I'm assuming you've already seen it." He was distantly aware of Tony getting up and starting to put his dishes on the counter.

"I mainly hang out in Tony's personal labs. I haven't really been down there much because no one's really had a chance to guide me around and you know I can't really get anywhere without a guide." Wally answered easily.

Then Tony's voice came from right behind them, sounding offended, "You don't need a guide! I have signs all over the place!"

Wally's voice was droll as he answered, "You do realize that you don't have any Braille signs in your building?"

"Seriously?" Steve asked, shocked.

Peter saw that Tony was about to start heading towards the elevator and something in the way he shifted must have told Wally the same thing because a mischievous smirk decorated the blind teen's face and he tilted his chair a little bit. Peter saw what he was going to do before he did it and he gave a low little chuckle that he knew only Wally would be able to hear. Well, apparently not just Wally. Clint looked up from where he was and looked at them in interest, obviously wondering what Peter thought was so funny. Tony was busy defending himself, "Well it's not like I need them in the elevator because you just have to tell JARVIS where you want to go and I don't have any blind employees or business partners so it didn't really occur to me to pay extra money to get Braille signs. Besides, JARVIS is basically everywhere in the building so he could totally guide people places if they wanted him to. There are other options for non-sighted people to be able to know where they're going!"

Steve just sighed and shook his head before tilting it up and giving Tony that look that said that he was going to buy those signs today or else Steve was going to find Pepper and sic her on the billionaire. Tony appeared terrified by the very expression that threatened an angry Pepper. Well, he looked terrified up until the moment he tripped on Wally's cane. He made a highly amusing squeaking noise that kind of sounded like a squeaky dog toy trapped in the mouth of a dying walrus that was distressing a pack of loud seals. It was one of the most hilarious noises Peter had ever heard in his entire life. He watched as Wally casually pulled his cane back in towards him and tucked out of sight and he grinned at his friend despite knowing that he couldn't see it.

Clint apparently caught the movement as well because he laughed openly, grinning at Wally and saying a quiet good job that could just barely be heard over the sound of Tony attempting to reign in his dignity. Peter glanced around him and smiled. He was so glad he got that internship at Stark Industries.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers momentarily suck, except Clint, who's always awesome. And somehow smarter than everyone else.

PPPPPP

Peter smiled, finally allowing himself to relax when Wally's crop of wild red hair peeked over the edge of the building he was perched on. It always made him anxious to see Wally run up buildings; he constantly felt like the younger hero was going to fall off the edge and, like, die or something. Johnny always said the same thing about Peter and his webs though, so he really didn't have any room to complain. He just had to trust in his friend's training and abilities and he knew that the speedster had plenty of both. For a long moment, the two of them just stood there, perched delicately on the very edge of the skyscraper, letting their senses roam while they were so high in the air that, although the noises were still loud, the sounds of the city were sort of muffled. It was peaceful and, most importantly, gentle on their senses up this high in the city. Peter closed his eyes and leaned backwards, resting his weight on his hands so he could get into a position to dangle his legs off the small wall at the top of the building that the two were crouching on. After a second, Wally copied his position, letting out an almost silent sigh at the much more comfortable position. Another pause filled the sunrise painted air with blessed silence before Wally hesitantly broke the spell that had settled over them, "Spiderman?"

"Hm?" Peter hummed in response, eyes still closed and a sleepy calm buzz spreading through his limbs. This felt so nice after one of the longest patrols of his life. This was one of the few nights where Wally was willing to take a break from patrolling with Daredevil and he patrolled with Peter instead. It had been a busy night. They'd been planning on another hour or so of patrol after midnight, but apparently that was when the crazies decided to come out and play because Green Goblin had come tearing down the street they were in, raring to fight. Not much longer after he'd been taken down, Doc Ock and Electro decided they were going to try a team up. Peter and Wally had taken a break to fix up each other's wounds (it'd taken a pretty bad bullet wound for Peter to trust Wally near him with medical supplies, but then he'd found out that the kid was actually really good and from that moment on, Wally was his number one stitcher upper) and they were just getting ready to head their separate ways at the end of a long shift when Johnny came tearing out of nowhere and asked them if they could help with one of Doom's attacks as long as they were out. That battle took much longer than expected, leading to the two of them sitting on a skyscraper with the sun already rising on the horizon. They were exhausted.

Wally's voice broke into his inner thoughts, sounding sad and shadowed by a little bit of apprehension, "What if I can't find a way to get back to my dimension?"

Those words were all it took for Peter to be sitting back up, opening his eyes and facing in his friend's direction (at this point, the more accurate term would be best friend). He could clearly read the devastation and indecision in the younger's face. There was a certain twist to his mouth and a little clench to the jaw, nose crinkled just the tiniest bit. Peter briefly wondered when he'd gotten so good at reading the speedster. His voice was firm when he answered, "You're researching a way to get back alongside two of the world's leading scientists with unlimited resources and the best scientific machines money can buy. You'll figure it out, there's no doubt in my mind about that."

Wally's voice was even smaller when he spoke next; it reminded Peter that even though the kid's been alive for longer than him, he was currently in the body of a fourteen year old and had the mindset and mentality and brain development of someone that age. Wally said, "What if… what if I don't know if I want to go back?" The last part was whispered.

Peter jerked a little bit in shock. What? He could tell by the tense lines decorating Kid Flash's exposed face just how much it hurt him to admit that. Spiderman pulled up his mask, knowing that Wally would hear the sound and understand that it meant that he wanted this to be a conversation between friends and not superhero buddies. Kid Flash pulled back his cowl and put his goggles in his pocket. Peter had seen the teen's mangled eyes before, but that didn't stop him from wincing every time he saw them. Peter questioned, "What do you mean?"

Wally sighed and ran a hand through his crimson locks, huffing out a breath. He opened his mouth to say something before closing it again and scrubbing at his face tiredly before tugging on a strand of hair with one hand, eventually leaving it to rub against the back of his neck. He sighed again and tried to explain, "If… when… if I go back to my dimension, there's a very real possibility that I'll never get to come back here. And… and… I love Matt like a second father and Foggy is like that weird uncle that you like because he spoils you – kind of like Uncle Ollie just with less muscles. And you've become my best friend and then Johnny is amazing too, the rest of the Fantastic Four kind of like extended family too. Gwen always makes my day and I love hanging out at the X-men mansion. I know everyone there by name and we always have a blast. The Avengers are starting to feel like older brothers and sisters. I just… I don't… trust easily, but I trust some people here. And… if I trust them, then they've managed to get past all, or most, of my barriers and that's not an easy thing to do and… I don't like it when those people leave me. And this… this'll be worse because I'd be leaving you behind and all of the people here who I've come to love, I'll, I'll just be… abandoning them! You guys have taken me in and taken the time to know me and… I'd just leave all of you with no guarantee that I'll ever see you again. How can I just leave like that?"

Peter's breath caught in his throat. The thought had never occurred to him. It never even crossed his mind that once Wally left they wouldn't be able to see each other again. It'd be as bad as him dying. Peter sucked in a breath when he thought of Matt. The older blind superhero would be devastated. He's support the decision up until Wally was sent home and couldn't see how it would affect him. Even then Matt wouldn't let anyone know that he was hurting. He'd just spend more and more time beating the living daylights out of criminals. He'd be reckless and thrill seeking and he'd get himself killed. Johnny would just be hurt. He'd avoid Wally like the plague up until the point that he was about to leave and then he'd hug him and give him a gruff message and then he'd spend days locked away in his room, not letting anyone in while he rebuilt his walls and told himself that he wouldn't make any more friends until the next person with kind words and a bright smile came along. The Avengers… well, Peter wasn't sure how they'd react but he knew that they would be sad to see the blind kid that somehow came to live with them gone. And Peter… what would he do? He'd seek comfort in his girlfriend and pull away from crime fighting because why bother when the world will never get that sparkle that only a speedster could provide back? Why bother when Wally couldn't bolster people's spirits and make it seem like there's nothing wrong? He made villains love him. He was a light in this world and even the people of New York would mourn his loss.

"Peter?" Wally's voice questioned a moment later.

Said teen superhero shook his head to get the thoughts out and said, "I… I hadn't thought of that. I guess it's one of those things you play by ear. You still have time to think about it, but you should just focus on figuring out how to get back first. Just know this: everyone will support you no matter what. We just want what's best for you." He didn't know for certain that they would, but he would do anything to console that broken expression off his friend.

A deep, bone weary sigh emanated from his friend's chest and Peter frowned worriedly. Before he could say anything about how someone so young shouldn't sound so old, Wally spoke, "Thanks Peter. I just… thanks. Heh, this is probably just me getting all sentimental because of tiredness or something. We should probably head back to our houses now. I'd say that this patrol is definitely over now, wouldn't you?"

Peter laughed and was about to respond when a voice crackled to life over his earpiece, "Spiderman. Morgan le Fay is in Cunningham Park. We need all the help we can get with this one." The voice cut out and Wally made a questioning noise in his throat.

Peter realized that Wally would have been able to hear the feed and he said, "It was something the Avengers gave me just in case. The Fantastic Four are on the same earpiece, just, like, a different line. The Avengers asked me to join a while back and I said no because I would have had to reveal my identity and give them a sample of my blood and there was no way I was doing that, so they gave me this instead. That was Captain America." Wally smiled softly in understanding, the earlier somber mood still hanging over them like a suffocating shadow. The two moved quickly, pulling their masks back in place and preparing to go to Cunningham Park (Peter had taken Wally through all the parts of New York that Daredevil didn't and together they had made sure that the blind hero knew where everything was). After a second, the two were off, Peter swinging and Wally running below him, running slow enough that he could still hear Peter in case another call came over the comms unit and changed the location.

No such call came and it wasn't long before the two were pulling to a stop on top of a squat building, waiting to be acknowledged by the Avengers. It didn't take long for the group to turn towards them and Peter noticed with a smirk that most of them did a double take when they saw Kid Flash standing with Spiderman. Peter winced to himself; they were really in trouble weren't they? Wally lived with them and Peter interned with them. They were going to have a seriously hard time keeping their identities secret. Woohoo. Captain America got over his shock first and said, "Spiderman. Kid Flash. Have either of you faced up against Morgan le Fay before?"

"No?" Kid Flash answered, unconsciously making it sound like a question. It was probably a reflection of his inner thoughts. Spiderman knew that the blind superhero had a Morgan le Fay in his own dimension. That's gotta be confusing.

Spiderman answered at the same time, "Nope." He popped the 'p' at the end. He hoped it distracted from Wally's odd answer.

Captain America just sighed before saying, "Alright, she's a tough foe but not impossible to defeat. Her main weaknesses are cold iron and steel. If we can hit her with one of those, we'll have her. She's got, uh, magic and she can control minds. So here's the plan: Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Iron Man will stay back and watch for an opening since they have the steel weapons. Kid Flash, Spiderman, and myself will provide a distraction."

He looked like he was about to say something else, but Kid Flash interrupted him, "Isn't that too risky though?"

"Isn't what?" Hawkeye asked testily, keeping one eye trained on the witch currently roaming the park, seemingly without a care in the world.

Kid Flash frowned and said, "If we all go close enough to cause a distraction, won't she just take over our minds?"

"We have intel that says that she's slightly weakened and can only take over one mind at a time. There's nothing to worry about, kid." Iron Man answered quickly.

"So? She'll most likely go after the strongest to take over which is Captain America. Spiderman and I are good, but we aren't nearly good enough to protect ourselves from Captain America and distract her from you guys at the same time. There's just no way." Kid Flash answered stubbornly.

Captain America's voice was exasperated when he said, "What else do you want us to do?" It was obvious he'd had this conversation before and he wasn't happy with someone who was obviously younger than him lecturing him on superheroing.

Kid Flash's voice was still set in a determined tone when he answered, "Send me out there alone. You and Spiderman stay back. I'm assuming she has a range when weakened, so you stay out of that range. When she's focused on me, Spiderman shoots webbing at her hands and feet and gets out of there as soon as possible. She'll focus on trying to get out of that and she'll focus on fighting me and that's when Captain America, from as far away as possible, would throw his shield. If she's focused enough on what she's, it'll hit her and then its problem solved. If she realizes that it's coming, then that's one more thing for her to focus on and it's the perfect time for Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Iron Man to strike." Spiderman nodded along with the idea. It made complete sense.

Black Widow announced, "There's one obvious problem you're overlooking. She'll take control of your mind as soon as you get close enough."

The grin that Wally sent her way was downright feral as he smirked, "I think you'll find that she's going to have a much harder time trying to take control of my mind than she thinks."

"Why?" Hawkeye questioned suspiciously.

"Why does it matter?" Wally practically growled, "She's going to get away if we keep arguing about this. I know you've considered something like this but you couldn't do it because you didn't have someone who could resist mind control. Now you do and this plan will work."

There was a terse pause before Captain America glanced out at the park where Morgan le Fay had started tearing trees out of the ground and then he said, "Fine. We'll do what Kid Flash says. Does everyone understand their roles?" Everyone nodded back to him seriously and he said, "Alright then. Get into places." He gave Wally a nod that only Peter knew that he wouldn't be able to see and then Wally rushed off towards the enchantress. Peter just hoped that Wally's plan worked.

It did. Kid Flash had been all boisterous loudness and sharp grins when he faced off against the sorceress, alternating between teasing her, flirting with her, and running circles around her, occasionally scoring a hit. There were a few times where he was blown off his feet with some magic or another, but he ended up fine. Eventually, Captain America had given the go ahead for Peter to shoot his webs. Morgan le Fay hadn't seen it coming. She had seen the shield coming, though and had caught it with a quick spell. But, like Wally's predictions, she hadn't been able to sense the steel racing towards her from three sources and was hit by all of them. It didn't take long to subdue her after that. That was what led to the two teen superheroes ending up back on the roof where they'd met the Avengers before the battle. Kid Flash had wanted to race off immediately so they didn't recognize him, but Peter forced him to stay and rest for a second so he could get a head start on his healing before he started running again. He could tell by the way the blind speedster walked that he had a least a couple broken ribs. It wouldn't take long for them to heal and he could risk his identity for that period of time. Kid Flash had just huffed at him before wincing and acquiescing.

Once they reached the top of the building, Clint immediately demanded, "How did you resist her mind control?" Peter winced; the man had some bad experience with mind control and probably didn't take kindly to knowing that there was a way to resist it.

Wally's answer came out easily despite the slight pauses when his ribs shifted the wrong way, "Being able to run as fast as I do would be kind of useless if I couldn't think as fast as I ran. No one else can think as fast as I do, so my mind just kind of melds together into one huge blur that you can kind of get vague impressions from, but nothing concrete. It makes it incredibly difficult to take control of. You can't give someone suggestions when they're moving so fast that your words aren't registered. Like, imagine if a car was driving at 100 mph and there was someone on the side of the road waving their hands to get the car's attention. The person in the car wouldn't even notice the person on the side of the road because they were going too fast to even see them. My mind is the car and Morgan le Fay's influence is that person on the side of the road. Make sense?"

"…Yes." Clint answered begrudgingly. Peter could tell he was impressed.

"Thank you, son." Captain America started, "We couldn't have done this without you. Without both of you." He amended his last statement to include Peter. Spiderman smiled even though no one could see it under the mask. He wondered if Wally could hear the mask shift and tell he was smiling. Huh, he'd have to ask his friend that.

Tony's voice sounded out, no longer muffled by the electronics of his suit, "That was pretty cool, kid. So how exactly do your powers work?"

Wally's smile was wry and amused as he answered, "That's a pretty complicated question. Pretty broad, I'd say."

Tony opened his mouth to say something else, but Natasha beat him to the punch, sending a glare over her shoulder at the billionaire as she spoke, "Are you the same person who saved Iron Man during the Chitauri invasion?" Well, Peter thought to himself, that was blunt.

Peter watched as Wally's body instantly turned defensive. He noticed the little vibrations in his hands that betrayed the speedster's nervousness. He doubted that Clint and Natasha missed it. Steve and Tony probably saw it too if he was being honest with himself. Wally really needed to get control of himself. Shoulders hunched slightly, Wally surprised Peter when he said, "Yeah, that was me." What was he doing? The blind teen had tried so hard to keep the person who saved Iron Man and the person he went on patrol as separate in the eyes of SHIELD and now he was up and admitting it? What was going on?

The only consolation Peter had was that Natasha seemed just as surprised if the brief flicker of emotion that crossed her features was any indication. Tony just said, "There's no way. You're hair was black. You had a whole different get up on."

Wally smirked and said, "The things chemicals can do to someone's hair, right? They can make it turn such vibrant shades of red and such dark shades of black." Peter finally noticed what Wally was doing and he was glad that his mask hid his amused expression because he was sure that Clint or at least Natasha would have picked up on what was going on if they'd seen it. Wally was making them think that neither black nor red is his original hair color or if it was, he was making it so it would be difficult for them to tell which one was the original color. It made it even harder to accurately connect his superhero identity and his civilian identity. Clever.

Tony conceded the point and said, "Cool. I guess I should thank you then, kid, but I don't really feel like it."

"You're welcome." Kid Flash answered easily, seemingly used to such versions of thanking someone.

Steve's voice broke into the conversation, "How old are you, son? You don't sound nearly old enough to be out here fighting crime and putting yourself in danger."

"I'm old enough to get mugged on the streets or kidnapped or murdered or terrorized by super villains." Kid Flash sidestepped the first question and continued talking, "I think if I'm old enough for those things than I'm old enough to fight crime. People my age are the victims of crime just like any other age. I'm helping to make it safe for people my age and, consequentially, all ages. I don't think age should have anything to do with it, only skill level."

Natasha was nodding in agreeance and even Clint seemed to concede the point, but Tony was frowning in the background and Steve made his displeasure clear, "You might have super powers, but you don't have the experience necessary to safely apply them. You're in danger when fighting crime. You'll lose your childhood and your innocence if you keep doing this."

Wally's voice was bitter with past experiences and Peter was vividly reminded of his mangled eyes, the Flash sign carved into his chest, all of the other scars that came from his abusive father or his time at the orphanage in Gotham. He said, "I lost those a long time ago. I fight to make sure that no one else has to."

There was a tense silence and Peter thought that this was not how Kid Flash had wanted his first meeting with the Avengers to go. He seemed to be getting off on the wrong foot with these people and it was concerning. Peter was lucky enough to have avoided this conversation because his mask muffled his voice enough to apparently make him sound like an adult, but then he also didn't have Kid in his superhero name. Wally really should have thought that out better. Peter glanced around the group, but his attention caught on Clint. There was something about the way the archer was looking at Wally that made him wary. Did Clint know? Had he connected the dots and figured out Kid Flash's civilian identity? Peter really hoped not, but he knew that Clint, at the very least, suspected something. He'd have to warn his friend about that before they went their separate ways this morning.

Captain America sighed and said, "Alright, I'm not going to argue with you about that. Fact is, you do have the skills and it was an honor to fight with you. If you ever need any help, please let us know. And we are more than willing to help you train. At the Avengers tower, we've got great training centers and all of us are willing to help out a fellow superhero."

"Uh, shouldn't I be making that invitation since, well, it's my house?" Tony asked, offended.

"Didn't you say something about the house now belonging to all of us and something about us being a family now?" Natasha asked, giving him a droll stare.

Tony opened his mouth to say something that probably would have ended up with Natasha pulling a gun on him so Spiderman interjected quickly, "So, where's Thor? I can get not sending Hulk down here, but Thor's normally around when you fight."

"We have a, uh, guest at the Tower at the moment and we're supposed to be guarding him. That means at least one Avenger is supposed to stay with him at a time, but we had Thor stay behind with Bruce because, well, you know." Steve finished awkwardly. Peter just bobbed his head in understanding, noting the smirk that Wally wore. If only they knew that the person they had left part of their team behind to protect was standing right in front of them at that very moment.

"Oh cool." Peter replied off-handedly, trying to sidle his way between Clint and Wally without anyone noticing, but the unimpressed expressions that both Clint and Natasha were leveling told him he'd failed. He decided to just go ahead and step right between them then. As long as they could tell, he might as well (hey, that rhymed).

"So, Kid Flash, how long ago did you get your powers?" Tony asked, stepping forward, his face plate still up.

Wally's tone was unimpressed when he asked, "Are you always this obvious when you're fishing for information? And seven years ago." Peter frowned; Wally had gotten them more than seven years ago. Then understanding hit. He got his powers when he was seven which, since he was currently in a fourteen year old boy, was technically seven years ago. That's gotta be confusing.

Clint whistled and angled his body to try to see Wally, "That's a long time. How come you just now got into the hero gig?"

"I was looking for a good hero to partner up with. I met Daredevil and practically the next day Doom was attacking in Hell's Kitchen so we went and kicked butt together with the Fantastic Four. I'm not stupid enough to go racing into this at my age without any possible backup." Wally shot Steve a look after that sentence and Peter barely held in a snicker.

Then he lifted his head back up and groaned, "Rhino's causing trouble downtown. You're ribs healed up enough to help out, KF?"

"They were fine earlier too. I only broke a couple of them," Wally grumbled, not seeing the shocked expressions on the Avengers' faces; apparently they hadn't noticed his injuries like Peter had. Wally continued, "But they're all healed now. It's not even bruised or cracked anymore so it's fine. Who doesn't love fighting Rhino anyways?"

Peter grinned beneath his mask and said, "Our first team up was against Electro and Rhino, remember?"

"Don't even remind me of Electro. He was causing enough problems earlier tonight. Er, this morning actually. I think." Wally said.

Before the two of them could start swinging/running towards the scene of the battle, Tony asked incredulously, "How long have you guys been up?"

"Dude, this patrol's gone on forever. We started a little early, like, ten or whatnot because the earlier the start the earlier we finish and all that. Then around midnight, super villains started to crawl out of the woodworks and suddenly its morning and we're still fighting criminals." Peter complained. Wally huffed a small laugh from beside him.

Captain America's voice was concerned as he asked, "We can take care of Rhino for you. You two should get home. We haven't been up nearly as long as you have."

"Nah, we got it. It'll only take us a couple of minutes, less if I run ahead. There's no need for you to worry about it." Kid Flash answered easily before promptly running off the building. There were a few startled exclamations before the group saw him running down the side of the building and then onto the flat land before speeding off in the direction of Rhino. Peter gave them a little salute before flipping off the building, amused at the fact that they still watched him carefully as if he was going to fall. It's not like he's been doing this forever and actually knew what he was doing or anything. Seriously, web-slinging was probably the least dangerous part of his job as a superhero.

WWWWWW

Wally was freaking out. He had to get back to the Tower, like, now. Yeah, he and Spidey had needed to take down Rhino and, yeah, they'd need to separate from the Avengers so Wally wouldn't run into them on the way back or so they wouldn't see that he was heading in the same direction when, logically, he should have been heading in the direction of Hell's Kitchen. None of that changed the fact that he needed to get back in there before they got back though. If one of them decided to check on him, his secret would be out. If either Thor or Banner (it felt weird calling him Bruce) had checked up on him during the time he was gone and the Avengers were gone, his secret would be out. Why did he have to get stuck in a building with a bunch of superheroes when he was trying to keep his civilian identity a secret? Why was this his life?

Kid Flash sped up to the top of the building and phased through the door to the roof, rushing quickly down to his room and avoiding the cameras. He had just got into his pajamas in time to hear the quinjet landing on the roof, four pairs of footsteps walking themselves into the house. He heard Banner call out that it was time for breakfast once they got to the right floor. He told them that someone had to go wake Wally and it wasn't long before Tony and Clint volunteered. Tony made sense, but Clint normally didn't like doing mundane things with Tony because apparently the billionaire was only fun when they were pranking each other.

Moments later, Tony walked right into the room without knocking (it was a fairy common thing for him to do although he never did it with Natasha because she would hurt him), calling out, "Breakfast is ready kiddo. Up and at 'em!"

Wally grumbled something unintelligible while reaching blindly (hehe, pun actually unintended but still amusing [to the author at least]) for his dark glasses. He settled them onto his face before peaking it out over the edge of his comforter. The sleepy scowl he wore was not just for show because he was exhausted and did not want to deal with people right at that moment. He eventually managed to say, "I don't wanna."

"Now that sounds like a normal teenager. I was starting to get concerned there for a moment." Clint said, a smirk obvious in his tone of voice.

Tony snorted and said, "Well maybe if he got to bed at a decent time he wouldn't be so tired." Wally started attempting to detangle himself from the sheets faster, desperately trying to think of something to say that wouldn't sound like a blatant attempt at redirecting the conversation. Peter had told Wally that Clint seemed suspicious of him and this was a very good way to get his cover blown. Tony continued before Wally could think of anything, "I came in last night to show him something and he wasn't there. JARVIS couldn't tell me where he was or when he left. This happens all the time. I'm starting to think that there's something about the location of this room and the way the wires are done or something that causes JARVIS to glitch up in this area. That's a security breach and all that too. Fury would totally kill me if he knew that I was having this kind of issue right at our 'honored guest's' room. Seriously though, why are we calling him an honored guest? That sounds kind of weird. Hey, we're supposed to be eating breakfast." With that last comment, Tony turned and started walking towards the elevator, seemingly unconcerned that the other two weren't following him.

For a moment no one said anything. Wally had heard the momentary speeding up of the heart and the small intact of breath when Tony explained Wally's nightly escapades to Clint. It was obvious that the superhero had put the pieces together. All Wally could do now was wait for the metaphorical (hopefully) blade to fall. After another second where no one moved, Clint said gruffly, "I didn't know you could draw. Steve would love it if he knew you drew. The two of you could do all that artsy stuff together or something. He'd call it a bonding exercise." Clint snorted at the thought and Wally let a cautious smile bend his lips. Clint continued, "Come on, breakfast is waiting."

Wally let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, finding comfort in the quiet whooshing sound it made. Nodding hesitantly, he followed after the archer, trying to get a gauge on his emotions. Why didn't he make a comment about it? Was he waiting to tell the others? Was he just leading him into the kitchen so they'd have him surrounded and could take him down easier? Wally pushed down the moment of paranoia, silently cursing certain portions of his Bat training. Bruce was so paranoid and whenever one of his kids called him on it he just said, "It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you." Only Bruce could get away with saying something like that and not come off as a nut job. Well, only he could say it and have no one comment about him coming off as a nut job.

The two finally reached the kitchen and Wally awkwardly slid into a seat. He knew he was being quieter than usual and he could tell by the silence that filled the kitchen that the others noticed, but he just couldn't bring himself to talk. It just felt like the second he started talking they'd all know and his secret would be completely out in the open. He really didn't want to risk it. Plus there was the fact that he was still actually a little miffed at the way the Avengers treated Kid Flash when he was helping them out earlier. Yes, he was a kid and yes, kids shouldn't have to do things like this. But they did have to do it because no one else would and quite frankly, they had no right to say those things. He'd helped to save their lives by showing them that their plan wasn't going to work. And then they treated him the way they did and then Clint figured it out and, well, the youngest Wayne was a little emotionally compromised right about then. Finally, someone spoke, causing several heartbeats to spike, "Wally-," It was Steve, but he was cut off.

From above them, JARVIS announced, "Loki has been spotted in Nigeria. Director Fury is calling for the Avengers to go to the helicarrier for a briefing immediately. Mr. Wally Murdock will accompany you to the helicarrier where he will be left while you fight. He should be safe there, sir."

"You heard him. Let's go." Steve sighed. The Avengers all stood and started making their way to the door. Wally sighed and reluctantly followed. He just hoped that they all came back alright.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally's life just really sucks.

CCCCCC

Clint didn't know why he didn't say something about it. He didn't know why he didn't take Nat aside and explain it to her. Maybe he was in shock or something stupid like that. Maybe he was still wrapping his head around it in the first place. Wally Murdock was Kid Flash. Kid Flash was Wally. When did this become his life? That meant that Wally would have to have heightened senses or some fancy tech or something to be able to know where he was going without his sight. Or he wasn't actually blind. Was that possible? He didn't think anyone had actually checked to see if the kid was legitimately blind, but he wouldn't pretend to be blind day in day out would he? Then again, how would Clint know? The kid wasn't anything like Clint thought he was. Kid Flash was Wally. Wally was Kid Flash.

In hindsight, it was so obvious. The hair should have been an instant clue. Clint hadn't seen anyone else with that vibrant red of hair that somehow looked artfully windswept even though one just knew that he didn't do anything with it. Nat's hair was the closest to his vibrant red hair that Clint had ever seen. The same pale skin color adorned Wally and Kid Flash. They were the same height, the same body shape. Hints of Kid Flash's mid-battle quips had appeared in conversation over dinner and breakfast which were really the only time the Avengers saw the kid. Wally used to live in Hell's Kitchen and records of him living there showed up at pretty much the same time that Kid Flash showed up. Clint had noticed the way that Wally and Kid Flash walked the same way and he had remembered that sometimes Wally forgot his cane and walked without it. He had seen Kid Flash's goggles and had wondered how the kid saw through the opaque lenses. He didn't have to see through them because he couldn't see. Tony's comments about Wally not being there at night were the catalyst that finally combined all the hints and showed him the truth. Wally was Kid Flash. Kid Flash was Wally.

Jesus Christ though. There was a blind fourteen year old fighting crime and taking down super villains. What has this world come to? He knew the world was slowly become more corrupt and generally sucky but this really cemented it. A blind fourteen year old superhero. And how did he get his powers? Where was he trained? What was Daredevil thinking when he took Wally on as a sidekick or partner or whatever? Who else knew about Wally's little night job? This was too much to take in all at once and now they were heading to Nigeria to try to take down Loki who was targeting Wally for his dimension or whatnot research. Clint was too old for this garbage. He couldn't help but think that Laura would kill him if he let Wally get hurt. She would think that Wally was just the cutest thing ever.

Sighing, Clint leaned over, resting his elbows on his knees and then his face in his hands. He scrubbed at his face tiredly, already done with the day before it's even begun. The worst part was that he could hear Wally jiggling his leg from across the quinjet, talking to everyone but Clint and doing his best to avoid the archer. He'd even found the seat farthest from the one Clint was sitting in. It was depressing. Clint didn't want the kid to feel like he had to avoid him. The kid was probably terrified right now and Clint had just left him to fester in his own uncertainty and thoughts. In hindsight, that was the cruelest thing he could have done. The archer was trying to make it seem like nothing happened so Wally could relax a little bit while Clint tried to get his thoughts under control and decide what to do. It definitely did not help Wally relax. Dang it. And now he couldn't even reassure the kid that he wouldn't tell anyone until they'd talked it over. If Clint was with a bunch of SHIELD agents or civilians or something he'd just take Wally aside and reassure him quietly, but they were in a quinjet with a super soldier who had freaking enhanced hearing so Clint couldn't talk to the kid. He felt awful but he also knew that he had been more than a little overwhelmed earlier and he didn't have any way of knowing that he was going to be sent out to Nigeria while Wally was stuck on the helicarrier. Hopefully he'd get a chance to at least reassure Wally before he left. That's when an idea hit him.

He was halfway through poking holes in the paper when Natasha settled herself next to him frowning, "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Clint grunted, poking the final hole. Now all he had to do was get this little piece of paper with its Braille message to Wally before he left. He was so glad that he decided to learn Braille all those years ago. And everyone else said that it wouldn't ever come in handy. Take that.

"Yeah right," Nat pushed, "You and Wally have been avoiding each other this entire time and you haven't even said a word. What's going on? Did you two get in a fight or something?" Her tone told him that she didn't think that was what was going on, but it was still a plausible theory.

Clint clenched the paper in his hand and tried to think of something to say. He'd already promised himself that he wouldn't give away Wally's secret until he'd had a serious conversation with him about it but he had to tell Nat something. He still wasn't sure why he was keeping the kid's secret, but he wasn't going to analyze it any further at the time. He'd figure it out later. Shrugging slightly, Clint answered, "I don't know why he's avoiding me and I'm quiet sometimes. Tony's not acting exceptionally stupid so I can't make fun of him for anything and Steve's not being prissy enough to warrant making fun of either. I'm bored that's all."

Looking up at Natasha, Clint caught Wally's head tilted towards him and his eyebrows rose minutely when he realized that Wally had heard everything he'd just said. Someone didn't care about private conversation between people. Jeez. Natasha frowned slightly, the curled down lips making her seem older, "Yeah… okay." Clint knew right there that he hadn't convinced her but he also knew that she would leave it be for a little bit, probably until after their mission. Sometimes she was considerate like that. Sometimes.

Another few minutes passed after Natasha stood up and walked over to talk with Banner and Clint finally figured enough was enough. He might as well go over there and give Wally the stupid piece of paper and talk to him a little bit, assure him with words as much as he could without alerting anyone else about what was going on. He stood up and walked over to where the kid was sitting, noting how Wally seemed to shrink into himself and cower away from the man. Clint frowned; was he really that scared? What did he think Clint was going to do to him? Then again, it was probably more of what would the people Clint would potentially tell do to him. The archer sunk gruffly into the chair next to Wally and said, "Accidently grabbed this off your desk this morning. I was looking at it and I guess I forgot to put it back. A note from a girlfriend maybe?"

The confused frown on Wally's face told him that he was definitely being subtle enough that others wouldn't figure him out. He was just concerned about Wally figuring out what he meant. Then Wally's fingers splayed over the paper and 'read' the words there. His eyebrows rose minutely; one wouldn't notice unless they were looking for it. Clint knew that he was 'reading' the words: Sorry if I freaked you out earlier today. I know you're Kid Flash but I won't tell anyone else yet. I'll wait until we have time for a conversation about it and then I'll decide.

Wally frowned deeper for a brief second before it turned up in a smirk that almost had even Clint convinced. He said, "Nah, this is just a note Peter passed me in class. I've been teaching him Braille so we can pass notes. I'm okay at writing in non-Braille, like, it's not entirely illegible, but the Braille is easier to read if you know how to read it of course."

Tony broke into the conversation, "You saying you don't have a girlfriend Wall-man?"

"Did you just call me Wall-man?" Wally asked incredulously, easily side stepping the question about the girlfriend.

Tony grinned mischievously and smirked, "What? You don't like it? I made it up just for you and you don't like it. You wound me."

Wally shook his head in mock disgust before throwing in seriously, "I really would prefer if you didn't call me that, though."

"Why?" Bruce asked curiously from where he'd been sitting the entire time, stuck in some book or another.

"My, uh, uncle called me that. When he was still alive." Wally responded, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. There was another connection that Clint should have made. In the videos of Kid Flash, he did that all the time. Man it was so obvious now that he knew. Then again, everything was obvious when looking back.

Tony's voice was slightly morose when he said, "Sorry kiddo."

"No big deal," Wally shrugged before carrying the conversation on, "Is there anything fun to do on the helicarrier? Because from what I gathered I'll be there for hours and I'll die of boredom before that happens. Loki doesn't even need to bother; the boredom will kill me before he does." Tony laughed outright while a few smiles covered some of the other team members' faces. Steve frowned, distressed that Wally would make light of the situation like he did. Clint let a smile steal across his face for a moment, focusing on the boy who'd someone managed to worm his way into the hearts of the Avengers, people who didn't take kindly to (read: trust) anyone new. He'd gotten into a discussion with Bruce and Tony about some scientific thing or another (he was pretty sure it had something to do with the scientific possibility or impossibility of dying of boredom but he really didn't care enough to find out) that they seemed surprised he understood. Steve was listening with an expression of growing confusion as the trio continued to talk. Thor didn't look much better, occasionally tilting his head with a questioning glance, looking a little bit like a giant golden retriever. Natasha was looking over the group with an expression that only her closest associates would recognize as fond amusement, almost as if she were a mother looking out over her children. They certainly had a weird dynamic but it worked for them and Wally had slotted himself right into the family like it was nothing.

Before their scientific conversation could progress much farther, the quinjet landed on the helicarrier. They all sequestered themselves into the building, Bruce peering over the edge nervously, wringing his hands. Wally put a comforting hand on his arm and Bruce smiled gratefully at him despite knowing that the boy couldn't see it.

They all reached the meeting room and Fury started talking immediately, "Agent Hill. Take Mr. Murdock to the room we've prepared for him." Without another glance in the boy's direction, Fury began his briefing, "Loki was sighted in a sparsely populated part of Nigeria. It was a fluke that someone saw him at all." He kept talking but Clint zoned out slightly. He was too busying watching the retreating back of Wally. The kid's shoulders were hunched and he seemed to lean away from other people. Clint got a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach and couldn't help the thought that Wally was going to do something stupid.

WWWWWW

The SHIELD agents were thorough that was for sure. There was always someone watching him at all times, which was a problem. He needed to get away. He had a plan to escape the helicarrier but he needed to make sure that the agents didn't realize he was missing for a long time, hopefully long enough for him to do what he needed to do. He wasn't going to just let the others go out there and fight Loki on their own. There was no way. This was his fight! It was his research that Loki was after and it was his fault that the god had even gotten involved in the first place. If one of the Avengers got hurt or, gods forbid, killed, he'd never forgive himself. It'd be entirely his fault. Like the death of Doctor Knightly.

He wasn't sure what he'd say to explain away Kid Flash being in Nigeria but he was sure he could think of something. He could say that he was running laps around the world. It might make them a little bit more suspicious but he had to hope that Clint would help him out on that. Now that he knew that Clint wasn't going to tell anyone for a little bit, he felt much better. It was nerve wracking for someone to find out. That terrified feeling actually made him want to lean towards what Peter had been suggesting for a while. Peter kept telling him to just out and tell the Avengers about being Kid Flash and how he got to the dimension because he was certain that they'd be able to better help him that way. He also suggested getting the Fantastic Four in on it too. With the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and Wally all working on the research, Peter was pretty sure that Wally would be home in no time. He skirted around the issue of leaving everyone behind for the moment to focus on the more immediate problem of deciding whether or not to tell the Avengers. On the one hand, it was torture to sit there and wonder whether they'd figured it out or not, but on the other hand, they were a part of SHIELD and one or more of them might feel obligated to tell SHIELD about him and that was the absolutely last thing he wanted. Batman always enforced in his mind that he should never trust government agencies with his secret identity. Entrusting them with the fact that he came from a different dimension seemed even worse. Quite frankly, he was lucky that they hadn't decided to take him in his superhero get up and, like, experiment on him or something like that. That was a common fear of metahumans. They were always slightly concerned that there was someone out there who wanted to experiment on them and learn more about their powers through testing pain tolerance and fighting abilities and other awful things that belonged more in horror novels but were still a part of real life.

Wally shook his head, trying to clear it. None of this was helping him with his immediate problem! He needed to get out of this infernal place and he couldn't do that with SHIELD agents practically sitting on top of him.

Huffing out a breath, Wally slid onto the bed in the room they'd prepared and announced, "I'm going to take a nap for a while." When the two agents stationed in his room didn't react, he continued, "I'm doing it right now." They still didn't act as if they'd heard him and he frowned irritably, "It would be a lot easier to sleep if you two weren't in here with me. It feels like you're staring at me and I can't tell either way and it's freaking me out."

That got a reaction as one of them laughed, trying to cover it as a cough. The other one sighed and said, "Alright kid, we'll leave. We'll be just outside the door if you need anything. Yell out if you can't get to the door." With that, the two agents left to join the other two agents outside his door.

Finally he was alone! Wally turned towards where he'd located a vent earlier (his echolocation device had found it; he'd recognized it because his echoes came back to him in stripes almost, missing some parts and hitting other parts which he knew were the slots of the vent) before turning his head towards the camera he heard buzzing in the corner. These people were more paranoid than Batman. Actually… no, they weren't. He wasn't sure anyone was. Now that step one had been realized he just needed to find a way to enact step two: get into the vent without being seen. That meant that he had to make whoever was watching the camera believe that he was still in the bed while he was actually getting into the vent. The room had a blind spot about three feet from the sideboard of the bed and once he got into the blind spot it wouldn't be hard to creep to the other side of the blind spot and get into the vent which seemed to be in a blind spot (thank goodness for small mercies). Wally turned his head so his echo locator was aimed towards the wall he'd need to cross to get to the blind spot. He smiled; perfect.

Step two officially starting, Wally pretended to get comfortable, taking his pillows out from under his bed and shifting them to the side of him, phasing his body through the bed slowly. Eventually the pillows stopped moving and it should have looked like his body was under the covers next to the pillows when, in fact, it was just the pillows. He had phased entirely through the bed and was sitting on the rough floor. Smiling broadly, he phased himself through the bottom part of the bed and into the nightstand that stood next to the bed. He paused inside of the wooden contraption, marveling at how strange it felt and yet how awesome it was to finally be able to phase through something. He then crept out of the nightstand and into the blind spot of the camera. They weren't expecting someone who could phase through things to be in this room and as such had foolishly covered the wall up to the point of the blind spot in furniture.

Wally finished enacting step two by quietly crawling into the vent and closing it behind him. He started working towards step three: get off the helicarrier. That was easier said than done because he had no idea where he was in the ship (was it considered a ship or a plane?). Deciding to crawl around with the stealth only a Bat could boast (and maybe Clint and Natasha), Wally started going forward, quickly reaching an intersection. He listened as much as he could and heard the sound of men talking about strapping the planes down more securely and he figured that was as good a place to start as any. He was pretty sure he sensed some planes on the deck when they first got here. He followed the voices through the vents and finally reached a point where the only thing that was barring him from getting out was the vent cover.

He waited for a few moments, tense and alert, for the men to get off the deck of the ship (plane?). The two men he heard talking sounded like the only men on the top of the helicarrier for the moment so once they were gone he was free to get going. He obviously needed to run off the edge of the plane (ship?) as fast as possible so all they would see was a blur and not their 'honored guest' escaping. Why was this so difficult?

Finally the men left and Wally seized his opening before it was lost. He practically flew out of the vent, easily replacing it within nanoseconds. Then he raced off the edge of the deck, propelling himself at least a good hundred feet with the force of his leap. Once he felt that he was far enough away and below the helicarrier, Wally started to rapidly spin his arms, creating small cyclones around them. It slowed his descent to the point that he touched the water with a gentle splash and nothing else. Keeping the whirlwinds around his arms, he pointed his arms behind him so he'd have the needed boost to start running over the water. He finally built up enough speed and he let his arms stop spinning, the speed of his feet more than fast enough to make it across the water. Wally grinned to himself. Was he awesome or what? Definitely one of his most favorite escapes ever. He was telling Peter about this the second he got back to America.

Following the instructions his goggles read out after he asked it to guide him to the tracker he put on Clint, Wally set off.

SSSSSS

There had definitely been something off between Clint and Wally earlier that day. When Clint had left with Tony to wake Wally up, he'd been determined and thoughtful. When he returned with Wally in tow, he'd been silent and brooding. Something happened in that small gap between when Tony left the room and Clint and Wally came downstairs to the kitchen. And he had no idea what it was. He knew something happened but no amount of prodding (from himself or Natasha) made either of them say what happened. All Steve could hope for at the moment was that it didn't affect their fighting in this battle against Loki. They were going in almost blind with the only confirmed report being that Loki was sighted in the area. They were under strict orders to bring him back alive. Apparently they wanted to know what he knew about Wally's research and they wanted to know how much he found out about SHIELD when he tortured that department head at the MRL place that Wally used to work. Steve scowled lightly as Nigeria came into sight; he still couldn't get the way Loki ran out of his head. They had all been at his mercy at the SHIELD base and he'd just up and ran. He didn't take the research. He didn't take Wally. He didn't take anything other than the innocent lives of some agents. What made him run? Why did he decide that fleeing was the best option? He couldn't have changed his mind that fast. The only thing that Steve could think of was that he found something that was unexpected and required more thought. What could it have possibly been though? The only new faces were the living department head and Wally.

What about one or both of those people led Loki to retreat?

Steve shook his head, sighing. He was being ridiculous. This was not the time to be focusing on the why of past interactions, but the how of the future interaction. He needed to make sure that his team would survive this encounter and would get Loki out of there and into captivity. He only hoped that the results of this captivity wouldn't be as disastrous as the last one. They did not need another Hulk rampage in the helicarrier.

Just then the quinjet landed and everyone trekked out. Captain America said, "Alright, there were sightings of Loki just north of here. He shouldn't have moved that much while we were getting here. Let's move out." Well, that sounded kind of soldiery. He ignored that thought and started heading in the direction they were supposed to go.

The group just made it over a small hill and into a little clearing when Loki appeared. Literally appeared in the middle of the clearing with no trap doors or shimmering or anything. He just showed up. Captain America's response was automatic as he grabbed his shield and tossed it like a Frisbee. It didn't help much when all Loki did was raise his scepter to block it. The shield came flying back and Captain America effortlessly caught it. He put it on his arm and glared dangerously at the Asgardian. Thor was resplendent in his armor, his hammer raised as if to strike. Black Widow was slightly crouched, guns at the ready. Hawkeye was next to her with an arrow trained on Loki's eye. Iron Man was floating slightly above them with one hand held up, ready to fire. Banner was back on the ship, waiting for orders that called for his help.

Loki, for his part, seemed calm, his eyes roaming over the group easily. He sighed and said, "That's too bad. I thought for sure you'd bring him with you. Then again, you don't know about him from what I can tell so it makes sense that you wouldn't bring him. I'm sure he'll show up soon anyways."

"Who are you talking about?" Captain America demanded.

After a theatrical sigh, Loki announced, "I'm talking about the blind scientist from your SHIELD research center. Wally I believe his name was."

"What have you been drinking?" Iron Man asked. Steve saw Thor and Black Widow looking equally confused (although Black Widow did a much better job at hiding it), but Clint was tense for some reason. He seemed like he knew more about what was going on than the rest of the Avengers. Did this have something to do with what happened between Clint and Wally this morning? Did this have something to do with why Loki retreated at the MRL? There was something that Steve was missing, something vital that would slot everything into place and connect all the dots. All he needed was that last little puzzle piece and he'd understand. The only problem was that he didn't have that last puzzle piece.

Frowning, Steve called out, "What do you want with Wally? He already said that he won't work with you and he doesn't have the research with him anymore. We took it. Why do you still want him?"

Loki sneered, opening his mouth to say something when a rough uppercut cut him off. The Avengers startled as a figure blurred into existence next to Loki. It was Kid Flash. Iron Man powered down slightly, levitating himself back to the floor before asking, "Kid Flash? What are you doing here?"

The kid grinned from under his cowl and answered nonchalantly, "Ah, nothing much. You guys seemed to be at an impasse of some sort so I figured I'd lend a hand."

"I believe he meant why are you in Nigeria?" Steve asked suspiciously. The kid was a great fighter and a dedicated hero but even Steve couldn't deny that it was suspicious that he was here at this particular moment.

His smile only grew brighter as he answered, "I was just doing some training. You know, ten laps around the world. It's kind of like 10K runs for people without super speed."

"You run laps around the world. You don't even seem out of breath. That is ridiculous. You talk about laps around the world like they're nothing." Tony breathed out in awe, the tone being slightly altered due to the metallic voice it came out in.

Kid Flash just shrugged, seemingly unbothered by the whole deal. He zipped a small bit towards their group and said, "So… who did I just sock in the face? I'm guessing by your lack of concern over his current unconsciousness that he was a bad guy and, in fact, deserving of being punched in the face at super speed."

Black Widow's voice was exasperated when she asked, "You did that without knowing?"

His shrug was slightly sheepish that time and he said, "Your conversation didn't sound very friendly so I just assumed. I did assume correctly, right?"

"Yes, you did. Thank you for that. This is Loki." Steve answered. Something didn't feel right. There was definitely something off about this whole situation. Steve didn't believe in coincidences and ones as big as Kid Flash being here, out in the middle of nowhere in Nigeria? That was way too big of a coincidence to actually be one. What was going on?

"Surely you've heard of me before?" Loki said, rising. The group turned their attentions back to the villain. He continued, "I mean, you have met me and I'm certain I introduced myself then." His grin was sharp and all teeth.

Kid Flash's voice was wary when he said, "Nope, I'm pretty sure we've never met before. I think I would have remembered that. Sorry dude." Steve listened to the kid's voice and narrowed his eyes. There was a definite waver in there. Was he scared? What could he be scared of? He'd talked back to the Avengers and taken down Morgan le Fay without a second thought earlier this morning (had it really been that short of a time?). Why was he so scared now?

All Loki did in response was smirk. And then, suddenly, he was in a different spot. He kind of blurred out of existence and reappeared between Kid Flash and the Avengers. Within a second, there were at least ten Loki's, all standing in a circle around Kid Flash. The kid spun in a circle, trying to find an open space in the circle but found nothing. Steve watched as he shrugged before launching at one of the Loki's. He went right through and overbalanced, having gone too fast. Steve saw him scrunch his nose up in confusion before shrugging again and running to go getting up to go behind the Avengers. He stopped short when Loki appeared in front of him again. He skidded to a halt and turned around, noticing that he was completely surrounded again. Steve was anxiously scanning over the accumulated group of Loki's and trying to figure out which one was the right one.

Kid Flash frowned deeply before launching himself at another Loki. Like before, he went through it and fell onto the grass plain, skidding slightly as he went. Within a heartbeat he was encircled again and seemed increasingly frustrated. The Avengers could only look on. If they threw anything at the one of the Loki's, it could be the wrong one and their projectile would go through the projection and hit Kid Flash. All they could do at that point was try to pick out the real one. Steve heard Clint growl from behind them and mentally shared the emotion. They couldn't even call on Hulk because there was no accounting for what he would do. There was a chance that he'd hurt Kid Flash on his quest to take down Loki. It was just too risky. Dang it! This was why Steve said it was too dangerous for people as young as Kid Flash seemed to be out fighting crime! They were going to get hurt!

Steve looked up just in time to see Kid Flash run through another projection and slam head first into a tree. He must not have seen it and once he did, he was too close to be able to stop himself. The kid fell to the ground, unconscious. This was their chance! Now they could fire at the projections until they hit the right one. Kid Flash was on the ground so he hopefully wouldn't be hit by any stray projectiles.

Before they could react to the opening, however, the projections vanished and the Avengers were left staring at Loki as he held Kid Flash in front of him like a shield, his scepter held to the boy's head. Kid Flash just hung limply from the maniac's arms as the showdown began. Loki said smugly, "If I so much as sense one of you twitching, I'll send energy directly into his skull, killing him instantly." Everyone froze as Loki smirked and lifted off into the air. He flew away with Kid Flash still in his grip.

He had just kidnapped New York's resident speedster.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally figure it out and it's really frustrating.

CCCCCC

Well shoot. This was bad. This was really, really bad. Loki just disappeared with Kid Flash. With Wally. How had the stupid kid even gotten off the helicarrier without everyone freaking out? Why was he so good and so stupid? Did he not think that they could handle it? Seriously! Clint was seething with his inner thoughts while he and the others ran back to the quinjet to see if they could fly in the direction he went and try to find him. They'd report the kidnapping to headquarters while they were at it too. What was the kid thinking?

They reached the quinjet and all strapped in quickly. Natasha explained the situation to a startled Bruce, who frowned heavily at the world at large. Clint went straight to the controllers of the plane and started the procedure for takeoff. Steve worked on getting in contact with HQ while Tony and Thor sat in their seats, shell-shocked expressions marring their features. Clint was trying to fight off his own sense of guilt and shock. He'd just let a kid get kidnapped by Loki. He'd just let Wally get kidnapped by Loki. That was the worst part. He knew this kid. He'd known him for just over two weeks and the kid was one of the bright spots of the Avengers' day. Now he was gone. Clint shook his head and started directing the quinjet in the direction they'd last seen Loki. They were going to get him back. Then they'd let him go to run wherever and he'd find a way back to the helicarrier where he'd sneak back on board and no one would be the wiser that he'd been missing.

Clint's heart leapt to his throat at the thought. What if they didn't find Loki right away? They'd get back to the helicarrier and they'd discover that Wally was gone. People would freak out and assume that Loki was a distraction and that Wally would actually be in a different location from Loki and Kid Flash. They'd focus all their searching on finding Wally who was a higher priority and they'd assume that he was kidnapped by Loki's goons or something and was at a different location. Information on Loki's whereabouts would become less important even though they'd still be catalogued. The only thing was that they wouldn't know that Kid Flash and Wally were one and the same and that Wally had actually left the helicarrier of his own volition. They'd assume that Wally needed to be found before Kid Flash without knowing that Wally was Kid Flash. And the archer had stupidly gone and promised to not reveal the kid's secret that same day. He hated being the hypocrite that went back on his ideals, especially after that whole mind-control experience but if he didn't tell them now it could spell out Wally's death.

Thinking, Clint decided that he'd not tell them unless he absolutely needed to. He'd do his best to convince them that there was no need to check on Wally so they wouldn't know he was missing. That wouldn't work for long, but then all he needed to do was convince them to keep looking for Kid Flash. Then everything would work out and he wouldn't have to give away anyone's secrets. He let out a breath of relief at the thought. His life was way too stressful. He was definitely getting too old for this. Maybe soon he'd make the decision to retire and stay at his farm with his family. Even thought it'd be dangerous, he might invite Wally over at one point to meet the family because Laura would love him and he just had a feeling that the blind teen was good with kids. Then he'd invite the rest of the Avengers over in increments. He'd keep his family safe first and foremost, but that didn't mean that he didn't have to completely shut out his old life. There were still some good people left in it.

Captain America's stern voice came over the silence that had settled in the jet. He had finished reporting the situation and had let the silence fester for a moment before speaking, "There's something we're missing."

Everyone looked at him with curiosity from where they were sitting. Clint knew exactly what he was missing, but he wasn't exactly going to tell him that. A sly smirk fell onto his face for a second before being wiped off; he said he wouldn't tell the others about Wally's secret, that didn't mean that he couldn't help them figure it out themselves. He felt a little guilty about the situation but it was an emergency. It'd be hard to push them towards the right conclusion but he had no doubt that they'd make it eventually. They weren't 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' for nothing. Tony asked desperately, "What? What is it that's missing?"

"If he knew that it wouldn't be missing." Natasha growled. Bruce just rubbed his temple lightly.

Steve continued as though none of the others had spoken, almost as if he were talking to himself, "Loki ran when he had us at his mercy. All the guards were killed so he obviously had the manpower as well as blocking the exit. The only new faces were the department head and Wally. Wally Murdock, formerly Wally Wayne. Wanted by CPS and a senior in high school. He's researching something about traveling between dimensions and that's the research that Loki wants. There were no sightings of Loki for two weeks. That means that there were likely two weeks of planning for this entire situation. Loki wouldn't just take someone who showed up out of nowhere because it'd mess up the plan that obviously took a while to put together. That means that he wanted Kid Flash. He knew Kid Flash too. Where did he know him from and why does he want him? That's our missing piece."

There was silence as everyone listened to their leader and nodded in agreeance with his thought process. It made sense. Clint glanced around the room. Would they be able to figure it out in time? Bruce spoke up hesitantly, "No one knew that Loki was even still alive until we fought him two weeks ago. That means that he had to have met Kid Flash within the last two weeks."

"SHIELD has been monitoring every phone, laptop, tablet, and camera in practically the entire world to get a glimpse of Loki. It's the same process as when we found him in Germany. If he had been in New York, he would have been caught on at least one camera even if it were just as he was going to a meeting place or leaving a meeting place." Natasha argued. Clint nodded his head in agreement; they were getting closer to the truth.

Tony frowned, "That doesn't change the fact that he had to have met the kid within the last two weeks. Besides, I think you're forgetting the fact that the kid runs several laps around the world for his workout routine. He could have easily met the jerk somewhere without a lot of cameras. He could have met him in Nigeria for all we know." He threw his hands up in exasperation and Clint frowned. Leave it to Tony to help them get farther from the truth.

Steve spoke up again, forehead crinkled in thought, "Why would Kid Flash deny knowing him then? Is Kid Flash in on the plan? No, that wouldn't make sense. Why deny it then?"

Natasha answered, "He must have met him as a civilian, not a hero. He was protecting his secret identity by trying to play dumb."

"How would Loki have realized that said civilian and said hero were in fact one and the same?" Thor questioned, eyes serious. They were getting so close! Clint paused, that was actually a good question. How did Loki know that Wally and Kid Flash were the same. Or did he not actually know?

"None of that truly explains his insistence that he didn't know him. He wouldn't have bothered with playing dumb once he realized that Loki knew he was that person. I think he was trying to keep us from knowing that Loki had met his civilian side." Bruce mused.

"That implies that we know his civilian side." Steve pointed out. Clint wanted to shake them all. They were so close!

Natasha was the first one to figure it out. Clint watched as he eyes grew wide and her mouth parted in surprise for the briefest of seconds before it shuttered into a neutral expression again. Within the same moment, she turned to face Clint and saw him looking at her. She knew that he'd already known. He could see the moment when everything clicked into place and she figured out the answers for all the weird behavior that day. Clint and Wally avoiding each other was because Clint found out. Clint being silent on the jet was because he was trying to work through things. That piece of paper that he supposedly grabbed from Wally's desk was him giving Wally a note. Clint gave her a small smile to tell her that he chose to withhold the information from her for what he believed to be good reasons, with no malicious intent involved.

It took only a second longer before Captain America figured it out. He blew out the breath he was holding and glanced towards the seat Wally had sequestered that morning when they'd rode towards the helicarrier together. Even though it was obvious he'd figured it out, he still held an expression of disbelief. His eyes grew distant as he compared the two meetings he'd had with Kid Flash to all the times he'd interacted with Wally.

Tony and Bruce figured it out at the same time. They're eyes flew open and they looked at each other, breathing out an, "Oh…" at the same time. One could practically see the wheels turning in their heads as the reconciled that information with everything else they'd figured out. As Clint had discovered when he made the connection, it was so obvious in hindsight. The others seemed to be finding the same thing out as they thought over the situation further. Clint didn't think that any of the others had figured out that he already knew. It was obvious to Natasha because she was one of the very few people he called a friend and she could read him like an open book, more so than she could normally read people. But then he looked back over to Steve and the man from another time was staring back at him with an unwavering expression and a raised eyebrow. Clint winced. He'd apparently figured out that Clint knew. Fantastic.

Then, startling all of them, Thor asked, "What?" Huh, Clint had forgotten about him for a moment. It made sense that he hadn't figured it out yet. He hadn't known Wally for very long and he'd only interacted with Kid Flash on that single occasion just then. Bruce hadn't interacted with Kid Flash, but he had researched the kid and been subjected to ranting about him courtesy of Tony. When he became obsessed with something, he did not let go.

For a moment, all of the people who'd figured it out looked around, trying to see if someone else would voice the crazy leap they'd made. Clint kept silent because he was determined to keep silent about it. He'd let them find out and then he'd reveal that he already knew about it and that would be that. He wouldn't have broken any promises. Then again, Wally probably wouldn't see it like that. It was Tony who eventually answered Thor, "Kid Flash is Wally. Like, the Wally who lives at Avengers Tower with us."

Thor frowned, fingering Mjolnir, "That cannot be true. He is on that floating ship we came from. Surely we would have been informed if he were to have left."

An expression of confusion flitted across Steve's face before exasperation took over and he picked up the phone again, this time putting it on speaker. It rang for a few seconds before Fury answered, "What is it? Have you located Loki?" Clint had already flew over the range they had decided to traverse to search for the wayward god and they were doubling back towards the helicarrier currently.

"No sir." Steve began, "We were wondering if you could check on Wally and see how he's doing."

"No one has left nor entered his room since he got there. Last time I checked he was taking a nap." The tone of Fury's voice told the rest of the team that Fury didn't like the kid overly much. It wasn't too surprising after the kid flat out told him no last time they interacted.

Steve's voice was firm when he responded, "Could you check the room and see if he's in there." As Fury started to protest, Steve said, "This is important, sir."

Fury finally capitulated, grumbling as he did so. They heard as he walked down the hallways and came to a stop in front of the correct door. They heard him order the men to open the door and then he walked inside. There was a moment while he called the kid's name and there wasn't any answer. Then there was the sound of a sheet being pulled back and loud cursing coming from Fury. The swearing tapered off before Fury demanded, "How did you know that he'd be gone?"

The Avengers glanced towards one another, suspicions now confirmed. Steve announced gravely, "Wally is Kid Flash. That's how he knew where to find us. That's why he came in the first place. He probably thought that this wasn't our fight or something like that."

Fury's voice was tight with suppressed emotions when he responded, "Get back to base immediately and meet in the conference room. We'll talk more about this then."

TTTTTT

The first thing Fury said when they all trekked into the room and sat down was, "Do you really expect me to believe that a blind fourteen year old science nerd is 'New York's resident speedster'?"

"The hair color matches. The way they talk matches. Wally was unaccounted for sometimes during the night. He's missing and Kid Flash is missing. They showed up in Hell's Kitchen at around the same time. There are more coincidences if you'd like to hear them." Clint replied emotionlessly.

Fury directed his next question at Tony, "How did he end up unaccounted for during the night? I thought you said that JARVIS was enough security and would keep an eye on him."

The accusation that JARVIS wasn't good enough was enough to break Tony out of his temporary shock, "He had to have hacked into JARVIS's mainframe. Something that you haven't been able to do might I add. And anyways, didn't he break out of a SHIELD helicarrier without anyone realizing he was missing without being told?"

Steve butted in before the conversation could devolve any further, "What he means to say is that obviously Wally, Kid Flash, is skilled enough in keeping his identity a secret and at escaping high security places that none of us are at fault here. We were unprepared to deal with a technologically inclined speedster when we attempted to keep Wally safe."

Tony grumbled, "I meant what I said." But he was ignored. That suited him just fine for the moment. He was still trying to figure out what was going on. Why wouldn't Wally have trusted them with this? They were superheroes too. He should have trusted them! So much of this could have been avoided if he'd just trusted them. They were Earth's mightiest heroes; they could have helped him better. He was just a kid and there was no need for him to take this all on by himself.

Fury's sigh broke into Tony's thoughts, jerking him to attention again. Fury said, "How did Loki find out?"

"The only time he could have found out was at the MRL when we were all in that room and Wally was trying to save the doctor. There's no other time that would have made sense for him to have found out. But what could Loki have seen that we didn't?" Natasha frowned.

"Loki, being gifted as he is in the art of magic, can also see forms of magic around him. Is it not possible that our young charge's wondrous speed be credited to magic?" Thor questioned.

Fury shrugged, his one eye glittering, "That's as good an explanation as any. We need to find Loki and hopefully the kid with him." Tony tuned out of the conversation as they started talking strategy. He just… he needed a moment to think about this. He needed to calm down and think about this. It was just, he just, the kid should have told them! Yeah, so what if he'd only known them for two weeks. They were superheroes and if one couldn't trust superheroes then who could they trust? Were they that unapproachable, that uncaring, so unworthy of his trust that he decided to face this alone instead of asking for their help? Tony frowned at that thought. Maybe he wasn't alone. Daredevil had to know his secret ID and Tony was willing to bet from the closeness between Spidey and Kid Flash that the two knew each other outside of their superhero masks. Great, the kid had trusted Daredevil and Spiderman before he'd trusted the Avengers (Tony knew that he was being irrational in just assuming that those two people knew, but he didn't care; he didn't know anything about the kid anymore so there was a pretty good chance that the two vigilantes knew about Wally being Kid Flash).

Tony took a deep, calming breath for a moment, letting the hurt slide over him for just a second so he could think clearly. Would it help to contact either of those two vigilantes and ask them if they knew any more information? Maybe Wally had told them something that he neglected to mention to the Avengers, something that might be helpful. He dismissed the thought to think about later; if the Avengers needed their assistance later then he'd bring it up again. For now, though, he was going to wrap his hurt around him like a blanket, like an Iron Man suit. It was his protection against the worry and guilt now that Wally was missing.

SSSSSS

Steve was barely keeping up with the conversation. This was… this was almost too much to take in. Kid Flash had been living under their roof for over two weeks and they hadn't even known. How was that possible? He frowned deeper. Since Wally was living with superheroes, he had to have seen the damage that fighting villains could do to a person, even ones as powerful as the Avengers when they worked together. And yet, he'd continued to fight with just Daredevil or sometimes Spiderman as company. He'd known that there were other, older heroes out there fighting the good fight and yet he'd still felt the need to risk his young life to fight crime and villains. What would compel him to do that? It wasn't just the fact that he was young anymore either. He was blind. He was a young, blind superhero running around at super speed going head first into dangerous situations. Wally was lucky to be alive!

He had to have some sort of enhancement or another that made up for his lack of sight, but still! There was only so much one could do to make up for a missing sense and he'd always be at a disadvantage. He was so new to the hero gig and… wait… maybe he wasn't as new to the hero gig as Steve thought. When he'd saved Iron Man from falling out of the portal, he'd had on a hero suit. It was one that, according to SHIELD, had never been reported or seen by cameras before, but it was still a hero suit. Why would he go through so much effort to make something that intricate and detailed and then automatically get a new suit to start his hero career. It didn't make sense. Well, Steve thought to himself bitterly, it was just another mystery to add to the piles of mystery that surrounded this boy. The kid was an enigma wrapped in a contradiction and Steve only hoped that the kid lived to explain himself. That's all he was hoping for. He just wanted the kid to be okay.

TTTTTT

Thor was confused. This was… this was a lot to take in. He hadn't become close to the fiery haired teen during their time together like Tony and Steve and Clint had, but he was still amused by the child's vivacious spirit and loud, excited laughter. He still could not see Wally and Kid Flash as being the same people. True, Kid Flash was full of the same brash humor and crooked smiles that made up Wally, but Kid Flash was also more… dangerous and serious.

Wally was smiles and self-deprecating jokes and science puns that almost no one understood. He was an incredibly intelligent child with a gift for cheering others up. He lamented the very thought of physical activity that did not involve running; anything else was considered a painful sort of torture that his 'weak, spindly arms' couldn't handle. At least, that was how he explained it one time. Wally believed strongly in the police force and had even mentioned at one point his fervent wish to become a forensic scientist.

Kid Flash was smirks and teasing jokes and running puns that made the villains cringe and the victims laugh with tears in their eyes. He was foolish and ran head first into things seemingly without taking the time to analyze them first. He could dent metal with his punches and had been seen to run on his hands before. There was even one occasion where witnesses reported him taking out an Escrima stick and fighting with it instead of his usual hand to hand style. Kid Flash was a vigilante and vigilantes worked outside of the law.

How could two so very different people actually be one and the same? And why had none of them noticed before? How lonely it must have been for him to feel as if he couldn't tell them who he was. He was in a building with a team that could help him but he did not trust them enough to ask for that help. Thor resolved to aid this child in finding trust with them when they got him back. Because they would get him back. Right?

BBBBBB

Bruce took several deep, calming breaths as he got himself under control. The last thing they all needed was the Other Guy to go on a rampage looking for their missing friend. He was feeling a little betrayed if he was being honest but he also felt like he understood Wally completely. The Avengers were known to be very close to the government program SHIELD. Bruce knew that if he was in Wally's place, he would have been terrified that telling the Avengers would result in them telling SHIELD which would result in SHIELD doing tests on him or keeping him prisoner as a 'dangerous' person. Wally had every reason to be concerned. The second they found out who he was, they told SHIELD. Not only that, but the head of SHIELD. And Bruce wouldn't put it past them to experiment on the kid and keep him locked up. Wally had better be on the lookout when he got back. He was going to have a lot of dangers from the agency when he returned. If he returned. Bruce wanted to be positive about it, but there really wasn't a lot of evidence that said that Wally would be returned to them. Plus, if he was returned to them, they would have to worry about whether or not he was under Loki's thumb like Clint had been the last time they'd faced off against Loki together.

Closing his eyes and rubbing his temples, Bruce concentrated. There was something he had realized when he was still on the quinjet that he had wanted to address, but it wasn't coming to him at the moment. Another few seconds of concentration found it. He opened his eyes, staring straight at Clint, and interrupted Steve, "You knew." It wasn't an accusation or question. It was a simple statement of fact that he'd let the others do with as they pleased.

Clint frowned as the others looked at him and sighed, "Yeah, I knew. I figured it out earlier this morning and promised him on the ride here that I wouldn't tell anyone his secret. I figured letting you guys figure it out yourself wouldn't be going back on my promise. You guys still needed to know and I would have told you if I needed to, but you guys thought of it yourselves."

Tony was directing a hurt look at Clint. It was barely noticeable and Bruce only recognized it through his great friendship with the man, but it was still a hurt expression. Tony didn't trust easily and it hurt him all the more when those he did trust betrayed that trust. He was probably hurting from Wally not telling them and now he was hurting from Clint not telling them. Tony was going to say something stupid in his anger and everything was going to collapse into a bunch of insults and in-fighting reminiscent of the original time they teamed up. That was going to have be fixed soon and Bruce was the only one to fix it. Sighing, Bruce rubbed his temples again. He shouldn't have said anything.

He took another deep breath and thought to himself that he hoped they found Wally and that he hoped that Tony would get over his anger soon enough so nothing bad happened. He just wanted this whole mess to be over with.

NNNNNN

Natasha had never truly trusted Wally. She never really trusted anyone, but she trusted him less than the Avengers because of time. She'd known him for less time and there was just something about him that screamed… something. Something dangerous, something powerful, something… trained. Now she knew what it was about him that had set her on edge. There was just something about him that screamed hero. It wasn't that she had anything against heroes; there were people who considered her one. It was that heroes can be dangerous in their ideals and their abilities. People didn't become superheroes willy nilly. If they wanted to survive, they had to have something that gave them an edge against the others. They had to have either an ability or superior training or both. And they had to have drive. For most, if not all, heroes, that drive came from infinite loss and tragedy. Every Avenger's life could be described as awful. There were things they'd done, things they'd experienced, things they'd lost that would make weaker souls crumble. But they hadn't crumbled. They'd stood up from the ashes of their innocence and they'd kept going. That was one of the things required to make a hero.

And Wally had that. He had that iron core burned and scorched and scratched from the trials of life but Natasha hadn't seen it right away. He was well-trained enough to keep that heroic bearing hidden from questing eyes.

So anyways, she hadn't trusted him and she was glad that she hadn't trusted him. It made it easier to bear the fact that he'd not told them of his moonlight job of beating up criminals. In fact, it hardly bothered her at all. The only bit of it that rankled her was the fact that she hadn't seen it. There was no way she should have missed it, but his bright grins and science textbooks had shielded his hurt soul in a way that not much else could. And so she'd had no idea that he was Kid Flash until the last moment when it was too late and they'd already lost him to Loki.

Oh, they were going to get him back. She didn't doubt that. She was just concerned about what shape he'd be in. There was a chance that he wouldn't be alive when they got him back. There was a chance that he would wish he wasn't alive when they got him back. All she could do now was push down was suspiciously felt like affection and focus on finding him. They just needed to find him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares suck. So does captivity. Everyone's also confused.

WWWWWW

Wally's breath stuttered in his throat as he yanked on his chains uselessly. He'd been pulling on them for hours and he could feel the blood running down his arms, collecting over the already crusted blood. He could feel his skin stitching together only to be torn open again and again and again. He needed to get out of here. He needed to get out of this godforsaken place. He'd only been there for three days but that didn't matter. Ten minutes in the presence of the Joker was torture enough let alone this long. Three days. Where was his family? Where was the Bat Clan? Surely they would have found him by now. He was their son, their brother, their friend. If they were looking, wouldn't they have found him?

No! Wally shook his head, wincing internally of the feeling of tight rope scraping across his adam's apple. That kind of the thinking was just the Joker's words getting to him. The second he lost his faith in his family was the second the Joker won and Wally refused to let that maniac win. He refused to give in to his rabid rambling or his foolish bargains and games. Joker. Would. Not. Win.

As if summoned by Wally's tumultuous thoughts, the crazy clown himself emerged from the door off to the side, laughing as Wally cringed from the horrible banging noise it made as it was thrust open. His headache pulsed along with his heartbeat (which meant that it pulsed a lot) and blood continued to trickle down his arms or onto the floor where his feet had kicked out in an effort to be free of the manacles there. Honestly. He couldn't even get out of this. He was useless! He should be able to vibrate through things like Flash. He should have been able to keep his glove which had his lock picks in it like the Bat Clan would have. Useless, useless, useless!

Before his thoughts could devolve much further, Joker breath puffed out on his face and he cringed back quickly, cursing himself for getting distracted. He'd think about what he could have done later. Right now he just needed to focus on surviving. Huffing out another breath, Joker's body moved back slightly, air moving around him. It seemed like he was sitting back on his haunches or something similar. Wally froze as he waited for Joker to decide what to do with him. He'd been beaten and had food taken away and been taunted for the last three days and he wasn't sure what else Joker thought he could do to him.

Joker's voice was exuberant as he announced, "Well Swift, I've got some good news for you. Do you wanna hear it?"

"Did you finally get a better villain name? Because that'd be great. I think I actually lose brain cells every time I say your name." That was admittedly not Wally's best comeback, nor was this point in time the best to be getting on Joker's bad side but Wally was never one to let something like common sense get in the way of annoying villains.

Joker's voice was significantly less exuberant and more murderous when he snarled, "You're a fool, boy! I don't think you understand your situation very well! You're mine. I captured you and you. Are. Mine!" He broke off into a laugh that could really only be described as a giggle and quite frankly, giggles shouldn't be that terrifying. Wally waited with bated breath as he heard Joker's arm shift to grab something, presumably out of his pocket. Breath caught in his throat as he heard the metallic sound of a switchblade being pulled out. Joker's voice was back to being painfully cheerful as he laughed, "Oh well, I'll just have to make sure you never forget who you belong to. Me!" He yelled the last part right in Wally's face and only laughed harder as the boy jerked away, startled.

That was when grasping hands tore his costume and yanked the top part down, revealing his torso, revealing all the scars. Joker's hands lovingly traced the Flash symbol carved into his chest and Wally fought the urge to vomit. Then there was a knife searing into his skin, digging deeper and deeper and cutting jagged ends as he jerked, the chains not allowing enough slack to truly move. He bit his tongue, tasting blood, as he swallowed the urge to scream out. He would not give this sicko the satisfaction! He'd taken worse than this! Worse had been done to him by his own father. This villain would not get to hear Swift's screams. He wouldn't.

Wally's last thought as he drifted into unconsciousness, Joker practically skipping away covered in the scent of Wally's blood, was that Joker had just carved a 'J' into his chest deep enough to scar. He'd belong to the Joker forever.

Wally jerked into awareness, hissing for a moment as his protested the movement. Memories were already flowing back of what happened. The helicarrier, escaping, Nigeria, punching Loki, there were so many Loki's, surrounded, impact with something too soon to stop, not thinking straight, so tired. Nothing. And then he was here, wherever here was. Reaching out with his senses, Wally tried to paint a picture of his situation.

Well, first things first, he was lacking his cowl (with its comms devices and goggles with echolocation) and that was a big problem. He figured from the man's words that Loki had already somehow figured out his identity but now anyone else who saw him would know as well. That was a problem. But he couldn't focus on that for the moment. Okay, he was missing his boots and gloves and the light feeling of his arms and legs told him that his arm and leg compartments had been emptied. That was also bad. He had a feeling that everything he found was going to be bad. Moving his arms and legs proved that they didn't seem to be injured or anything, but they were currently in chains. That must have been was triggered the Joker nightmare. Fantastic. Speeding up his molecules, Wally realized that they must be something incredibly dense. The denser the thing he was trying to vibrate through, the longer it would take to vibrate through them. And these were taking a really long time.

Sucking in large breaths of air, Wally tried to catch his breath. He shouldn't be that exhausted even though he'd been trying to vibrate through the chains for a little bit. Thinking about it logically, it wasn't hard to realize why he was so tired. He'd gone on an all-night patrol with no sleep and not nearly as much food as he should have gotten due to all the fighting they'd been doing. Then he'd had a relatively small (by his standards) breakfast before going straight to the helicarrier where he had to vibrate through things, propel himself with his own generated mini cyclones, run across water to Nigeria, and then fight Loki for a little bit. He was obviously running low on energy and these stupid cuffs were too dense!

Before Wally could resume his observations of the room, Loki's voice sounded out from in front of him, "I would not bother trying to escape those manacles. I enchanted them myself to increase in density if your molecules increase in vibrations. The faster you go the harder it will be and I do not think you have much energy waste." Wally's jaw clenched in anger but he didn't say anything, directing his face towards the ground. Loki's soft chuckle broke through the silence that had settled around them, "I presume you are wondering how I found out who you are, no? It was quite simple really. You used some of your speed when fighting that pawn back at the SHIELD medical ward. I saw something powerful, something purely speed blossom around you as you pulled it in, using just the tiniest amount of it to fight. I realized that if I took you, I would have the secret to traversing dimensions and I would have that speed too." No. No this couldn't be happening. Loki had seen the speed force. He'd seen it when Wally used it. That was so bad on so many levels. The things that this god could do with that knowledge, especially mixed with the ability to travel through dimensions. Wally would not let him have it.

Wally would do everything in his power to make sure that Loki didn't get those things.

His voice still tinged with anger and a hint of nervousness, Wally asked, "Who do you work for?" Loki stilled in front of him and Wally could practically feel the calculating glance. He pushed his advantage, "You said 'that pawn', not my pawn and you said that you would gain the secret, not the ability. That means that you're doing this for someone else. It might be for your own personal gain as well, but you're under the orders of someone else. Who is it?" All that training to become a master detective actually paid off. Bat training sucked while one was going through it, but it ended up being helpful in the long run.

Another soft laugh came from the man, this time seeming to be lined with real mirth. He actually found Wally amusing. Loki spoke, "I do not think it is necessary for you to know that yet. I am impressed that you figured out that I'm not working on this alone. I believe that I have underestimated you. If I were you, I would not expect the same thing again. Now, I would prefer if we did this the easy way. Aid us in completing your research. I am certain you could recreate all that you have done so far. Tell us the secrets behind your speed. You will be greatly rewarded and you shall be doing the science that you seem to enjoy. Surely this is the best option?"

"I'd like to hear all the options before I decide that." Wally practically growled. Who did this guy think he was?

Sighing (a tad melodramatically if one asked Wally), Loki said, "Or you could refuse and we would be forced to resort to… more drastic measures."

"Wow," Wally drawled, "That was so cliché. It was actually painful it was so cliché. Come up with a better line and I'll actually take you seriously, okay?"

"Insolent brat!" Loki cried, surging forward and snapping Wally's head to the side with a backhand slap. Loki snarled, "We will get what we want whether or not you wish to cooperate. I gave you a chance at a painless, rewarded life but you chose to be foolish. Live now in the misery of your own choosing." The god stalked away, clothing jingling in a way that reminded Wally of armor. There was a barked order that Wally couldn't quite make out as the door was closed and there was something to prevent sound from leaking into (or out of) the room. It wasn't a match for his superior hearing though, so he could still hear that whoever else was out there responded something before there were the sounds of something marching towards his room.

A moment later, the door swung open again, slamming into the wall and Wally was vividly reminded of his nightmare. Someone new entered, their heartbeat steady before the body turned slightly and apparently caught sight of Wally lying there, chained. He heard the heartbeat pick up and Wally wasn't sure if the newcomer was panicked or excited. It was disconcerting. Then the new person pulled something else into the room with them. It sounded like a wheeled cart of some sort. If that thing held torture devices then Wally was going to call cliché again. Mind, he'd be snarking like that because he was completely terrified, but the person in the room with him did not need to know that.

Without saying a word, the person grabbed Wally's chains and pulled him to his feet with them. They continued pulling, stretching his arms and, eventually, lifting his feet off of the ground by an inch or two. Apparently satisfied, the person settled Wally's chains there, leaving him to hang in that spot. With the first sound of metallic clanging, Wally realized that he was going to be in for a heck of a ride. This was going to suck.

SSSSSS

They were lost. They were completely lost at that point. There were no leads on Loki. It had been three days. The worst thing was that they'd gotten phone calls from Matt, Wally's guardian, wanting to talk to his kid and they'd been avoiding telling him what was going on. The city of New York was raising questions about Kid Flash who'd never missed more than one night at a time fighting crime. He'd missed three and even the villains were asking where he was. Tony and Clint had blown up at each other, screaming and accusing and yelling and Bruce had to leave the room before something bad happened. The entire team was falling apart, dragging themselves into a mess of blaming each other and calling out faults. They weren't getting anywhere and they needed answers now.

Steve rubbed his eyes tiredly. This was ridiculous. It shouldn't be that hard to find the kid. Tony and Bruce were working on ways to track him, hoping that there was something he leaves behind wherever he goes because of whatever gave him powers, but so far there was nothing to track him with. Natasha was with Fury and Hill and the three of them were tracking Loki through what they called geographic profiling. Steve didn't even want to know. Apparently they weren't having much luck either. Thor was doing something with this person called Heimdal or something in an effort to track Loki and there was no response on how that was going, but Steve assumed it wasn't going well. Clint had said something about talking to some old contacts and getting word out to look for Loki and/or the kid.

If only Wally had told them some of this! Everything would have been so much easier if he had just trusted them before this point. Steve shook his head, leaning forward in his seat and standing up; now was not the time to play the what ifs and what could have beens. Now was the time to take action. There was only one course he could see now and it was something Tony had suggested the day before. He was going to go talk to Spiderman, Daredevil, and the Fantastic Four. He was sure that at least one of them would know something important. At the very least they could help the Avengers understand how Loki knew who Kid Flash was. He would start with the Fantastic Four, who seemed to know Wally the least, and then he'd move on to Spiderman, saving Daredevil for last. It was getting to be late at night so now was the perfect time to go. He would catch the Fantastic Four in the Baxter Building and then he'd wait around New York for sightings of Spiderman to talk to him. Then, when it was much later, he'd go to Hell's Kitchen and try to find Daredevil. Although, based on the results from when they tried to recruit him, he would find them before they found him. It always disturbed Steve how good he was at telling if people were in 'his city' or not.

Deciding to multitask, Steve called for both Clint and Tony to come with him and started towards the quinjet. The two childishly ignored each other to the point of avoiding walking near each other so they wouldn't bump against the other and have to admit that they're real. Honestly, it was like dealing with two five years olds. Couldn't they just grow up?

As Clint started doing the basic procedures for take-off, Steve broke the icy silence, "You two need to apologize to another." And that was why he brought the both of them. They'd have however long it took the quinjet to get back to New York for them to make up and stop acting so stupid.

"I see no reason to apologize." Tony stated snootily.

"If he doesn't have a reason then I certainly don't." Clint announced, jabbing his thumb in Tony's direction at one point.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes, Steve let out a weary sigh, "I don't care if you see a reason to apologize or not. I don't care if you're still mad at each other. I don't really care how you feel right now. Apologize to each other. Now." He was not in the mood to be nice at the moment and he knew he startled them with his behavior but they would just have to get used to it. He hadn't had nearly enough sleep in the past few days and stress and guilt were warring for dominance, leaving him emotionally battered. It was something that happened to everyone at some point. There was one memorable occasion where almost all of the Howling Commandos felt like that at the same time. Needless to say, no soldiers felt the need to bother them that night.

Clint's jaw clicked and he ground out, "Sorry for snapping at you Tony."

"Yeah," Tony sighed, "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm just worried about Wally. And I'm mad that he didn't tell me- er, us – about who he was."

"I talked to Bruce about that actually and he pointed something out. Wally was probably afraid to tell us not because of us and the things we've done but because of SHIELD. Bruce figures that Wally was afraid of SHIELD finding out and that's why he decided to not tell us. He had every reason to be afraid of SHIELD too. Who knows what they would have done if they found out who he was?" Steve added.

"Then why was he stupid enough to work at a SHIELD workplace? Didn't he think he was going to get caught there?" Tony pointed out tiredly. Steve glanced at his friend worriedly. He wasn't sure if he'd seen Tony sleeping at all during Wally's three day absence.

Clint frowned from his place navigating the jet, "I guess it was really the only place he felt he could do research. I mean, Oscorp and Stark Industries don't let people intern until they're fifteen so he was a year off for those things and SHIELD's got top of the line stuff. He probably thought he'd be too busy in college or something and so he took the chance at interning somewhere while he still had it."

"Still though, that's a pretty big risk. He had his life on the line if SHIELD found out. Even I wouldn't be that desperate to do science." Tony frowned, brow furrowing.

Steve shifted in his seat slightly before saying, "Maybe it was something about that dimension theory thing he's working on. Maybe he thought he needed to get that research done before someone stole the idea or something." That didn't seem like something that Wally would risk though. He was meticulous and planned things out to the very last detail. He'd kept his identity hidden from a house full of Avengers for over two weeks. So if he was that considerate of his identity and that determined to keep himself a secret, why would he risk it all to discover something first?

Clint sighed, a rough exhale, "This is ridiculous. What is with this kid? He just has secret after secret piling up and it's going to get him killed! Why does he do anything? What is he hiding?" He let out a small growl as his pent up frustrations came to light. No one said anything for the rest of the ride there.

JJJJJJ

Johnny and the others were just settling in for a movie when the doorbell rang. He called out, "Someone's at the door!"

A stone arm reached out to smack him lightly (at least, hopefully) on the back of his head, but he ducked out of the way quickly, grinning at Ben who just grunted at him. Reed looked up in confusion and said, "Someone's at the door?"

Sue just groaned in annoyance and stood up to greet whoever was visiting them. Johnny just snickered and Ben rolled his eyes, sighing as he paused the movie they had just started on. Johnny took the chance to pilfer some of Sue's popcorn, loading just enough into his bowl that it was worth the effort, but she wouldn't readily notice. It was a skill that he'd trained himself in for a long time before putting it into effect a couple of weeks ago. No one had called him on it yet so he thought he was doing pretty well. Grinning to himself, he threw some more popcorn in his mouth and even tossed a chunk at Ben.

Before the man had a chance to react (probably violently), Sue came back into the room, face drawn with worry. Johnny and Reed stood up as Captain America, Hawkeye, and Iron Man (minus the suit, so one could really say it was Tony, but whatever) walked in behind her. Reed asked Sue, "What's going on?"

Captain America answered for the woman, clearing his throat slightly before asking, "You all know Kid Flash, correct?" He waited for them to nod their heads, raising a hand to stop further questions, "Do you know his civilian identity?" When he received head shakes instead of nods, he frowned but continued on anyways, "Kid Flash is in some trouble and we wanted to ask you some questions to see if you could shed some light on the situation."

Johnny started talking before Captain America could continue, desperate to know how his friend was, "Where is he? Is he hurt? What happened?" He knew he was getting too worked up and he knew that if his stress level continued to elevate he was going to set himself on fire, but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. Something happened to KF! He needed to know what was going on. Sue gently put a hand on his back, efficiently soothing him to less dangerous levels. Ben had stood by then as well and the Fantastic Four faced off against the Avengers, confusion and worry standing clear on their expressions.

Captain America spoke again, "Loki, the one who brought the Chitauri to Earth earlier, has captured Kid Flash. Loki had been threatening someone we were charged with protecting so when there was a sighting of him, we immediately left for the area where Loki was sighted. We were facing off against Loki when Kid Flash punched him, knocking him unconscious. Kid Flash said that he was going for his normal laps around the world workout routine and heard the commotion. Loki woke up and tricked Kid Flash, capturing him. We've figured out from their conversation that Loki knew Kid Flash's civilian half but had not yet interacted with Kid Flash. We need to know if you have any additional information about this situation or if you know of any way to track Kid Flash. Also, if you have any insights on how Loki knew Kid Flash's identity that would be greatly appreciated."

There was silence for a few moments as the Fantastic Four came to grips with what just happened. Johnny knew he was the closest to Kid Flash, but the rest of them loved the kid too and now he was gone, kidnapped and apparently the Avengers had no idea where he was. Why else would they come to the Baxter building like this? He vaguely heard Reed explaining the tracker located in the comm device they'd given Kid Flash, noting subconsciously that Reed was at the computer now, pulling up the tracking program. Johnny just couldn't think past the idea that Kid Flash was kidnapped. What if he was being hurt? What if Loki was hurting him at that very moment? Would they know to feed him extra food because of his metabolism? Would they take advantage of his speed healing to hurt him more? How did KF get mixed up with the likes of Loki?

Sue's hand rubbing soothing circles on his back and her clear voice broke into his thoughts efficiently, "Johnny, do you know of anything else to track him by? Or how Loki figured out his identity?"

Huh, apparently tracking via comms wasn't going to work out. He wondered idly what happened to the comms device before snapping himself out of it before he fell into another haze. He needed to think about this to help his speedster friend. He frowned as he thought. KF had never really mentioned much about his powers and he'd avoided talking about things that might be regarded as weaknesses so a way to track him would have never come up in their conversations. He was way too careful for something like that. So, that left the second question. How did Loki find out about KF's secret identity? Johnny didn't even know who the kid was underneath that mask! How did this villain find out? Okay, okay. Think clearly. Go through the former conversations. Does anything come to mind? Nothing, nothing at all. He'd never mentioned meeting a god before other than commenting about being around when the alien invasion occurred. Could he have met Loki there? Nah, he would have said something. Johnny was certain he would have said something. So… where else would Loki have met Kid Flash? This was pointless. He didn't know enough about his friend to be able to help them. It would be the same if Spiderman went missing. He didn't really know his friends because of that whole pesky secret identity thing. Sighing in aggravation, Johnny groused, "I don't know. There's nothing I know that can help."

Sue reached out again to comfort him but this time he didn't want to be comforted. Standing abruptly, Johnny turned his gaze towards the Avengers gathered near them and said, "I'm going to help find him. I'll talk to as many people as I know and I'll look everywhere for him." There was a determination lighting the fire inside of him this time and red flamed fanned into life around his body.

Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, and the Thing all gathered close to him, saying much the same as he did. They might not know his secret ID and they might not know much about him in general, but they knew that they were his friends and they would not let their friend get hurt. With a nod from Captain America, they set off to try to find Kid Flash.

PPPPPP

Peter was stressed. Okay, he was pretty much always stressed, but this time it was mixed with a healthy serving of worried. Where was Wally? He hadn't been helping Daredevil (who Peter had by now confirmed was Matt and they'd actually hung out together a couple times along with this dude named Foggy who was awesome) with him patrol and he hadn't been helping Spiderman with his patrol. The only thing that had stopped the two of them from going out looking for him was the fact that Wally had said that there was a chance that something like this could happen. They might get a lead on Loki or the research might take an unexpected turn and he might not be able to get away for long enough periods of time to go on patrol or help out in a battle or something. That didn't mean that Peter wasn't still worried, but he was less worried than he could have been.

That worry skyrocketed when a quinjet landed next to him on the building he was currently perched on the edge of. That was the Avengers. If the Avengers were here, that meant that they weren't watching Wally which meant that he should be able to get out to patrol. Something had happened; Peter could just feel it like he could normally feel danger with his Spider Sense. He stood up a little bit but remained slightly crouched. He turned to face the three figures that had left the quinjet. There was Captain America, Hawkeye, and Tony Stark. Well, that wasn't ominous or anything. What was going on? Was he in trouble? Was Wally in trouble? Was the world about to end? Okay, Peter had to admit that he was getting a little carried away with himself, but he felt that he was currently justified in his actions.

Captain America began, "Do you know Kid Flash's secret identity?" Uh, what? Did they really just expect him to say it? Or… did they suspect who he was? He knew that Clint had been getting close. Dang it! Captain America spoke again before Peter's thoughts could spiral further, "You don't have to say what his secret identity is, we just need to know if you know who he is because that decides how much we can tell you."

Peter narrowed his eyes at them underneath his mask. What were they playing at? He answered slowly, "Yes, I know it." He'd wait this out. They'd tell him in a moment, he was sure.

Sure enough, Captain America nodded and said quickly, "Wally's been kidnapped by Loki." Peter's whole frame jerked at that statement. Wally had told him that Loki was the reason that he was hiding out with the Avengers but… how did this happen? He didn't have to wait any longer as Captain America launched into an explanation about the research and the interest Loki gained in it and then the day they went to the helicarrier and how Loki captured him in Nigeria.

Hawkeye's voice was accusing when he said, "You knew most of that already despite a lot of it being top secret things that Wally wasn't allowed to tell anyone."

"Well yeah, but I'm his best friend. We tell each other everything." Peter responded, not really thinking. He asked, "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"We need to know a way to track Wally and we need to know how Loki knew that Wally was Kid Flash. As far as we can tell, the only interaction the two had before Nigeria was at the SHIELD compound." Captain America took charge again.

"That was the only time they'd interacted," Peter answered flippantly before asking, "How did you let him get out of the helicarrier? Isn't that place supposed to be, like, top grade spy awesomeness. How'd a blind fourteen year old get out? Mind you, he's an incredibly well trained and incredibly smart blind fourteen year old with enhanced senses but still."

"So he does have enhanced senses. I knew it! Anyways, we're not sure how he escaped. He was in a room and he was never seen leaving it." Tony answered.

"Were there any blind spots? Any vents?" Peter asked.

"Yeah there were blind spots and a vent in the blind spot, but he was in the part of the room that he would have to cross into the blind spot and he never did." Tony answered.

"Were there solid objects that lead from where he was to the blind spot?" Peter continued.

Tony's voice was confused as he answered, "Yeah…"

"Then he vibrated through those solid objects and crawled out of the vent. He probably made little cyclones of air by spinning his arms really fast and then propelled himself onto whatever was below the helicarrier and then ran to wherever you guys were." Peter explained.

"He can do that?" Clint's voice was incredulous and Peter nodded, smirking with pride for his friend.

Captain America's voice broke over the moment, "Isn't there something more important to be talking about here?"

Peter's voice was sheepish as he admitted, "Yeah." Then he sat through and thought of the questions. He dismissed the first one for later thought and focused on the second one instead. How did Loki know who Kid Flash was? It's not overly obvious. At least, not obvious enough to put it into one's plans and it seemed like he would have figured it out while he was in the MRL with Wally. Peter remembered the Wally had been concerned that Loki found something more interesting to think about and that was why he'd left. So… what was Wally doing before that caught Loki's attention? Peter narrowed his eyes in thought before asking, "When Wally was taking down that guy at the MRL, the one he ran into, did he seem faster than a normal person? Like, not fast enough to be super human, but still faster than usual."

The raised eyebrow he was getting from Hawkeye told him that the man was surprised by just how much Peter knew. He knew more about Wally than any other human being on this planet. In this dimension, actually. Captain America answered after a moment's pause, "He did seem a little faster now that you mentioned it."

"Well then, that's how Loki knew. Wally's powers come from the Speed Force. Don't ask me what that is and don't ask me to explain it or go into any further explanation than that. Even telling you that was more than Wally ever wanted others to know. Loki must have seen the Speed Force since he's got magic or whatever, right? The Speed Force isn't magic by way. At least, I don't think so. The Speed Force confuses me." Peter answered finally. He really hoped that Wally would forgive him for telling them all that but really, anything they could use to help find Wally Peter would give them.

Tony asked excitedly, "Can we track that?"

"Don't ask me, I've got no idea." Peter responded, holding his hands up in an 'I'm innocent' gesture. Well, he could actually help them research it, but he didn't want them to know he was into science and, really, the less time he spent with them as Spiderman, the less time they were going to have to guess that he was Peter Parker. Then again, Wally's life was at stake here. What to do? What to do?

Hawkeye asked seriously, "Would you be okay with coming back to the helicarrier with us to help us look into that? You know the most about the… Speed Force or whatever so you're help would be great." He looked like he was forcing the words out and Peter smiled underneath his mask at the thought that Wally made staunch friends so fast. The Avengers were willing to throw their pride to the wind to find him.

Decision made, Peter said, "Alright, but if someone sticks me with a needle or something to try to get some of my blood, I'm going to punch them and I refuse to be arrested for it." He sent them a defiant glare before realizing that they wouldn't be able to see it. Ah well, maybe his mask had crinkled in a defiant glare kind of way and they got the message. Either way, he loaded onto the quinjet with them, sitting as far away from them as he could in the small jet and hoping that no one guessed his secret ID while he was with them. Peter closed his eyes and told himself that, no matter what, he would find Wally. He would.

MMMMMM

Matt had been enjoying a nice, simple patrol around Hell's Kitchen when he heard the sound of a quinjet. Fantastic. This was going to be awful. Actually, he frowned, this might give him a hint as to what was going on with Wally. He knew that the Avengers hadn't been entirely truthful with him when he asked to speak to his son, er, Wally during the last few days, but he trusted in the fact that Wally could keep himself safe. He would be alright. Right? Then again, what other reason would the Avengers have for showing up in Hell's Kitchen when he always told them to stay away? Were they here to tell him that Wally was dead or something?

Scolding himself for letting his thoughts get away from him, Matt focused on slowing his heart down as he leapt up a fire escape and made it easily to the roofs. He ran across them until he found one with a large opening for the quinjet to land while still remaining visible. He turned his head in the direction of the jet which quickly turned and started heading towards where he was. Daredevil waited patiently for the jet to land. He heard four heartbeats and none of them were Wally's. That was a little disappointing, but it also meant that they hadn't figured out either his nor Wally's identity. At least, he hoped so. Maybe they'd taken Wally to some obscure testing facility and now they were going to try to capture him and bring him there too. They'd have blackmail material now too because he wouldn't let Foggy or Karen or any of his customers get hurt because of him. Captain America came out first with Iron Man (strangely without his suit) and Hawkeye close behind. Trailing a little farther behind them was Spiderman who seemed reluctant to be here. That didn't do anything for Daredevil's mounting worry. What was going on? Captain America started by asking, "Do you know Kid Flash's identity?"

Before he could say anything, Spiderman called out, "They already know his identity and they want to know if you know so they can know how much you should know." Matt sensed Hawkeye turn around, probably to give Spiderman a confused look, but he didn't really care. They knew who Kid Flash was. They found him out already.

Voice low and deadly, he growled, "Yes. Why?"

Captain America started, "Wally was kidnapped by Loki three days ago."

Matt could tell that he was planning on saying more, but Matt didn't care. Voice lower and infused with a layer of danger reserved for some of his worst criminals, he practically snarled, "You mean to tell me that you've lost the person who you were charged with protecting?"

"Hey, he's the one who left the helicarrier and went and punched Loki. It wasn't entirely our fault!" Tony defended.

At the same time, Hawkeye muttered, "Does he have no regards for keeping secrets? Suddenly everyone knows he worked at SHIELD."

Matt didn't care what they had to say. He didn't care what they thought. His whole body was frozen, ice flowing through his veins and worry threatening to overwhelm his senses. Before any of the others could open their mouths, Matt spoke. This time his voice was barely a whisper, still managing to carry across the roof. His voice was laced with deadly intent and that sinful joy in causing others pain. He made sure his snarl indicated his absolute fury, "Get out of my city."

He was gratified with Tony and Captain America actually stumbling backwards in shock. He felt a little bad with the way Spiderman's heart stuttered in surprise, but he really wasn't up for caring at the moment. He just needed them gone before he acted on his urge to tear apart, to massacre these fools who let his son, er, Wally – no, his son get captured by Loki. These people who he had entrusted Wally's care to had let him be captured three days ago. They only now had the nerve to tell him! If they didn't get off this roof in mere seconds, he was going to let his Devil loose and woe be the person who tries to stop him.

Luckily for them, they seemed to get that he was being completely serious when he told them to leave because they were gone within half a minute, leaving Matt standing there on top of the building, positively shaking with rage. He needed, he needed to go beat some people up to get this out of his system. He needed to take them down and feel his billy club break bones. He needed to… not be out here. He couldn't fight crime while Wally was who knows where doing who knows what having who knows what done to him. He needed to plan things out and find his son. He needed… Foggy. He would go back to where he's been crashing with Foggy and he'd plan it out from there. That's what he'd do.

A clear plan in mind, Matt felt significantly better as he jumped from roof to roof with abandon, tearing through the streets to his destination, just barely holding onto his frame of mind enough to keep an ear out for anyone who might be trying to follow him.

Moments later found him climbing into Foggy's window and quickly pulling his suit off to get into more suitable clothing. He rapped on Foggy's bedroom door on his way to the kitchen and called out, "Get up. This is important."

The man must have heard Matt's tone of voice because he came out of the room faster than he'd ever done before. He took in the coffee that Matt was brewing and he asked, "What's going on?"

"Wally's been captured by Loki. I don't… I don't know what's going on. I don't know anything other than that. I know that the Avengers were supposed to be taking care of him and I know that they are complete morons who managed to lose him. Apparently he was on the helicarrier. They weren't even able to keep him on the stupid helicarrier! That's supposed to be one of the most secure places! It's basically SHIELD's headquarters. It was probably filled with SHIELD agents. And yet, they lost a fourteen year old blind kid. This… this is ridiculous. This is complete garbage. Wally assured me that since he'd be with a group of superheroes and super spies that he'd be safe. He was supposed to be safe! And now he's been captured. For three days, Foggy, three days. They just now decided to tell me! And as Daredevil! They still haven't informed me as in Matt Murdock that his son is missing and has been kidnapped by Loki!" Matt knew that he was having what some would call a temper tantrum. He honestly didn't care. This was… this was…

His thoughts were broken off by Foggy's voice, forcibly calm, "Alright, here's what's going to happen. You're going to get back into your Daredevil get up and you're going to think of everything you can think of to find Wally. You're also going to call SHIELD using that number they gave Daredevil and say that Daredevil told you, Matt, about Wally being missing and that you are mad and are bringing your firm in to sue them. I will represent you and speed write a fancy letter telling SHIELD why I am suing them and also telling them about the judge I know who can do super quiet hearings so SHIELD can't even use the excuse of national security and secrets or whatnot. I will make it as formally insulting as I can manage and you, Daredevil, will bring the letter with you when you go to the helicarrier and help them find Wally. You got that?"

Matt's thoughts settled down as he heard the plan that was actually pretty good. He wasn't so sure about the whole suing SHIELD thing but figured that it was a good way to lash out at them since if he physically lashed out at them they would have a harder time finding Wally and he'd probably be taken down. So he'd lash out at him the only other way he knew how, by being a lawyer. Grinning, Matt went to get changed. They would do this. He could do this. He was going to find Wally if it was the last thing he did. He would find Wally.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki's partner finally pops up.

WWWWWW

Wally was shivering against the back wall of his prison when Loki finally came again. His very molecules ached after that day's… session. It always went like this. Loki would come in the morning bearing a heaping of food and drink (not close to as much as Wally needed in a day, especially was this was the only food he got) and offer him the chance of glories and riches if he just helped them with their research and told them a little bit more about his speed. He devoured the food while the man waxed poetry about the absolute wonder his life could become if he'd just help them and once he finished eating, Wally would find some way to say no and make it sound insulting (although his insults were growing weaker and weaker and less coherent as his injuries and his lack of food and his inability to run compounded on his poor body). Loki would sigh and then leave while that man from the first day came in and… did what he did. Then, after hours and hours, the man would leave Wally to fester in his own thoughts for a while. Only then would Loki come back in to question him, lashing out with his magic whenever Wally got a little too mouthy. Hence the current shivering. He seemed a little fond of ice magic and after that first night of interrogation Wally hadn't really felt warm since. Probably because he kept mouthing off every night so Loki kept icing him. And seven nights of getting magical ice that takes a long time to melt shot around the room means a very cold cell.

Loki's voice entered into his thoughts and it took a while (too long, far too long) for Wally to comprehend what the man had said, "Are you prepared to talk again? Surely you must have something useful to say by now." His voice was tinged with the bitter annoyance that tainted the words of most villains who dealt with Wally (excepting the Rogues because, well, because they were weird). Wally was sure that he'd normally feel some sort of vindictive pleasure from that, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't this time. The emotion was too far beyond his current capacity for doing anything.

When Loki spoke again, it drove ice picks into Wally's temples, "You're awfully quiet today. Perhaps you really are finally prepared to talk. Alright then, tell me about your dimensional holes theory." Wally could definitely detect a smug note in the man's voice, but it still wasn't enough to drag him out of the stupor he'd fallen in long enough to make some sort of comeback. So he just sat there, leaning against the wall coated in his own blood.

He could hear the eye-roll in the statement as Loki sighed irritably and said, "Did we manage to break you already? Surely you aren't so weak. Pathetic, but then, what else could I expect from a Midgardian?" There was barely concealed hatred in that statement but Wally was good at reading people's tones and he could tell that Loki didn't hate humans as much as he pretended to. Just that process of analyzing his captor's voice drained him of what little energy he had left, leaving him to slump further to the ground. He was so cold and he hurt so much.

Loki's voice held the tiniest note of worry woven among silky threads of concern as he asked, "What has gotten into you tonight? Are you physically incapable of speech?"

The god's voice kept spiking Wally's headache, every syllable a new lesson in misery and Wally decided he was going to do something about it. So, each word like a large blade in his mouth, throat sore and rasping, Wally stated, "'M cold. Can' think straight. Hurt." His head was pounding and spinning for the effort and blood rushed through his ears. That wasn't what he'd meant to say. He had meant to say something… something better. He didn't really remember at that moment. It didn't really seem important.

It was once again Loki's voice that startled him out of the pit he'd been falling into, "You are cold? And injured? I believe that you have no right to complain about these things for you brought them upon yourself. Besides the cold and pain have not bothered you overly much before tonight." There was definite worry there. Wally wondered why. Was Loki actually concerned for his well-being? Well, he did need Wally so he could get his research. That's probably why he was concerned. Wally knew that he should answer. He should tell the man looming above him that the food he was getting wasn't adequate enough for him to survive on; that if this continued for another week he wouldn't live to see a third week of captivity. He should tell Loki that memories of his biological father and of Joker and of that one time he'd been hit by Scarecrow's gas and of his family being mind-controlled were mixing and melding and burning their way into his nightmares so he was lucky if he got three hours of sleep a night. He should tell him that the lack of food and the lack of sleep were significantly slowing his healing rate and the man who brought the pain was hurting him with the thought that he'd heal like a speedster in mind but he wasn't healing like a speedster and all of his injuries were so much worse than they should be at this point. He should tell him that he was having a hard time feeling his fingers he was so cold.

But he didn't tell Loki any of those things because his head was spinning and the wall was so very comfortable and words felt like knives in his mouth, in his throat and this welcoming blanket of nothingness was wrapping itself around his mind and how could he resist? It didn't take long for him to fall into the warm embrace of unconsciousness.

MMMMMM

Matt was having a difficult time working with these people. He was still very, very angry at them. Suing them hadn't made him feel nearly as good as it should have although it was quite amusing to hear Fury spluttering about Foggy's letter for a second before he regained his composure. There was going to be some dramatic things going down when they finally found Wally.

The Avengers had all gathered at the designated meeting room on the helicarrier and were reporting their findings. In short, reporting nothing. They had been working on this for seven days, the Fantastic Four, Spiderman, and Daredevil working on it for four of those days and not a single person had found anything relevant. Daredevil knew that Spiderman was almost in tears, scratching along his mask in an effort to pull at hair that was unfortunately covered. Spiderman had been working non-stop with Tony and Bruce in the labs, trying to find a way to trace Loki or to trace the Speed Force (which, how did Johnny and Peter know about that but Matt didn't?) and nothing was forthcoming for their efforts. It was breaking Peter apart little by little as was the fact that he called his Aunt May every night and had to feed her some lie about why he was gone (the end of Spring Break had passed and Peter was desperately trying to do all of his homework and classwork during the only open time he had available to him – when he supposed to be sleeping). It was also breaking him apart that they couldn't find Wally or Loki. It was like the two of them had disappeared off the face of the earth. No one knew where they'd gone. And it was infuriating.

Matt heard Steve let out a whoosh of a breath that was honestly the weariest sigh Matt had ever heard. It was depressing to hear. That didn't mean that Matt was any less furious at the Avengers for losing Wally or for neglecting to tell him about it. Steve then said, "We need a new approach. There has to be something we haven't tried yet. There has to be some other tracking method, something else to do to try to find them."

"We've tried everything already," Tony growled, "and nothing is working. We tried tracking Loki's scepter but there's something that's stopping us from sensing it. We tried tracking uses of the Speed Force but we know little to nothing about it so that's not working. We tried tracking the GPS in his comms unit but that didn't pan out. We tried tracking small tremors in the earth from when he runs too fast but there hasn't been anything that fits his style of running since he was taken. We even gave Wolverine a piece of Kid Flash's clothing and let him try to sniff something out and he only got so far before the scent disappeared. We've tried everything and nothing is working." His voice got more impassioned towards the end, a desperate lilt that tore out of his throat in an angry snarl.

Natasha joined in, her carefully constructed tone softening the tiniest bit to allow a little bit of her frustration to sound out, "Everything with a camera has been used to try to catch a glimpse of Loki or Kid Flash but they haven't been caught on any cameras. A geographic profile didn't work because we don't know enough about the plan or about Loki himself to figure out where he'd find a safe house."

"Neither Heimdall nor the sorceress I brought to Midgard to look for the young hero, or my brother, were able to sense either presence. Something is blocking them from our vision." Thor announced, his voice portraying the frown he probably wore.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here," Johnny Storm announced suddenly from the webcam the Avengers had been using to keep the Fantastic Four in the loop, "and say maybe he's not still on Earth."

Everyone kind of froze; Matt could hear the sudden rustle of clothes as they jerked into an unmoving position, the puffs of breath as they let out their shock. He himself was a little shocked. The idea hadn't occurred to him. It hadn't occurred to any of them. Could he really be off world? Then Thor spoke, shattering the moment of hope that had settled in their hearts, "I am afraid this is not possible. Heimdall and all of the sorcerers of Asgard have searched all of the planets close enough that Loki could be on them. They found no traces of either Loki or Kid Flash." Matt felt the energy drain out of the room as their last vestige of hope was torn from them. Why did Loki have to take Wally? Why did he have to be so good at hiding?

There was a long moment of silence, minutes passing by as each person tried to think of something, anything to save their precious speedster when all of a sudden, Spiderman smashed his head into the table. Matt felt vindictive pleasure when he heard the sounds of most of the Avengers' heartbeats increasing momentarily as they startled. That was when Peter started talking, "I'm so stupid! I am completely and utterly useless and do not deserve to be KF's friend. Why did this not occur to me before?" Spiderman flew up out of his chair, racing through the ship towards an area where Matt remembered the science labs being. Tilting his head curiously, he followed, hearing the others going after them as well, Bruce being kind enough to grab the laptop that was streaming the live feed from the Baxter building.

They all arrived in the lab at the same time, bunching through the door and elbowing their way through, Natasha and Bruce being smart enough to wait in the back until the crowd had dispersed until moving through the door. Steve asked impatiently, "What did you figure out?"

"I've read through his research a ton of times. I mean, he bounced ideas off of me before this whole fiasco started and then I've read through it these past couple of days to see if he wrote down anything that would be helpful towards finding him because, you know, scientists write random things off to the side of their work all the time." Matt felt the air of Tony and Bruce nodded and heard the agreeing sounds of the Fantastic Four. He also heard Steve's foot tapping in annoyance. Peter finally continued, saying, "There's a note in his research, a tiny little footnote type thing written on a napkin and jumbled among other random thoughts, but it lists potential places of the holes he's researching. He theorized that there was a hole, a doorway, in Antarctica; he's even got the coordinates written there. What if Loki knew more about the research than he was letting on and he just needed the rest of the blanks filled in to get to the end result? What if Loki knew that there was a dimensional hole in Antarctica and decided that he wanted to be near the hole for whenever he figured out how to use it?"

Matt was beyond confused at this point. He knew that Wally had been researching something and that research was what landed him in this position, but he'd never asked what the research was about. Now he was hearing things about holes and dimensions and napkins. But none of that mattered. All that mattered was that they had a potential location for Wally. Antarctica. Of all the places.

Sue's voice came from the laptop that Bruce still held, her voice confused and tinged with a little bit of anger, "What's going on? What was Kid Flash researching? Was that why he was taken? What haven't you been telling us?" Matt winced; he'd forgotten that since they didn't know his true identity they hadn't been told the whole story before then. They were kind of lucky that it hadn't come up before then.

Bruce explained in a short, clipped tone about the research, choosing to leave out anything that might hint at Wally's identity which Matt was thankful for. It also helped Matt understand what was going on a little better and he knew enough from Wally's many ramblings about anything and everything to be able to follow most of the science Bruce explained. It helped that Bruce had simplified it as much as he could. For a moment there was silence before Clint's voice broke through, "How would Loki know so much about it though? How would he know where a potential dimensional hole… doorway… thing was?"

"Is there a chance that the person Loki used to find out about the research could have known that information and told Loki?" Bruce ventured.

"That's highly unlikely." Peter mumbled from where he was sifting through what sounded like a large stack of papers that Matt assumed was Wally's research. He explained, "This was one of his earlier ideas. I mean like, really, really early ideas. He already had this written somewhere before he'd even started working at, uh, the place he was using to research." Peter stopped himself from saying something that would reveal his identity in the nick of time.

Natasha's voice was cold as she recollected, "He told us that he didn't come up with his base idea until a couple of weeks after he started working at that place. He told us that he was helping someone with their research and that's when he found one of the holes and then he came up with the idea. If he came up with the base idea a couple weeks after starting to research there, then how did he already have a place in mind before he started researching there?"

Matt heard Peter's heart skip a couple of beats before settling back into a rhythm (even if that rhythm was way faster than his usual meaning that he was probably very nervous). Peter cleared his throat slightly and said, "Ah, maybe, maybe I was wrong or something. I'm sure that's just it. The date was off. My bad!" Daredevil inwardly cringed as Peter fumbled his way around what was probably supposed to be a lie. It wasn't a very good one and Daredevil could tell that no one else was convinced even without seeing them. Why would he lie about that though?

Steve asked calmly, a hint of steel tracing his words, "Spiderman. What aren't you telling us?"

Matt could hear the fabric crinkle as Spiderman shook his head no, trying to deny that he knew something they didn't. The lie still wasn't working. Bruce tried to appeal to him, "You can tell us. It will help us find him or, if he actually is in Antarctica and we already know where he is, then it will help us know what we're dealing with."

Peter's heartbeat calmed a little bit and there was a pause before it sped back up again, Peter sucking in a sharp breath of air as he realized something. Matt was silently urging him to speak up, to tell them what they needed to know. It was obvious he knew what was going on here, more so than anyone else, but he wasn't sharing. They needed to know this information. Tony was the first one to break the spell, questioning, "What? What did you just figure out?"

"Loki has a partner. He has to. It has to be him. That's what's going on. I should have figured this out sooner! It has all the signs and makes the most sense. Well, it makes the most sense if Kid Flash is actually in Antarctica. If he is, then that has to be what's going on. But… no… how would he do that? There can't actually be a way to do the talking. Then again, the tech's a little different so… and he's pretty smart. Plus he's got a grudge against KF. Kind of. At least, that's what Kid says. So… how would they have first met? Different spots I guess. They could be all over the universe." Peter mumbled to himself, pacing back and forth and idly tapping his webshooters while he walked.

Clint sighed, "Spit it out. We're all waiting to hear about this amazing revelation that 'makes the most sense'."

Matt heard Peter grind to a halt and sensed him turn towards the gathered group. His heartbeat had skyrocketed again. He didn't want to tell them. Daredevil spoke up for the first time, his voice purposely low and gruff, "Tell us. We just want to find him." He was guiltily hoping that his demand would serve in guilting Spiderman into telling them. Peter knew that Matt was falling apart inside over his worry about Wally.

Peter rocked back and forth on his heels for a moment, deliberating, before saying haltingly, "Kid Flash would kill me if he knew I was telling you this. I'm not going to tell all of it and there will be unanswered questions, but I'll answer as much as I can without giving too much away. I think Loki has a partner who found interest in the dimensional holes just like KF did. I think he found a way to contact Loki and he convinced Loki to capture KF. That was probably the plan all along. I bet Loki lied about his interaction with that person he killed. The partner probably told Loki about the research and then he and Loki began sifting through a ton of research centers and science labs and so forth to try to find someone who was also looking into the dimensional holes theory. It was probably then that Loki came across that man and then questioned if there was anyone researching that particular topic in that particular research center. Then he found out KF was and everything played out from there. He didn't want you guys to know he had a partner so he made it sound like finding out about KF's work was a side effect of what he was trying to get from the guy he killed."

Matt sifted through all the words carefully. It made sense, a lot of sense and it helped to explain why they hadn't found Loki and Wally yet. If they had someone that SHIELD hadn't interacted with before, then there weren't any protocols in place to counteract whatever this new person would use to keep Wally hidden. Johnny asked the question they had all been thinking, "Dude, cut to the chase. Who is this guy that you think partnered up with Loki?"

"I think… I think it's a guy called Vandal Savage." Peter finally answered.

VVVVVV

Vandal Savage glanced at the puckered line that he was only able to make readily visible with the assistance of Klarion. The Witch Boy had colored it a vibrant red and from it now came a voice. There was no mistaking the superior tone that Loki always chose to use, "The prisoner is being treated currently. Apparently he fell victim to a bout of hypothermia along with the mental strain of his other injuries. He was not healing as fast as he had the first day or two, as fast as you said he would heal."

The immortal sighed to himself, wishing that there had been someone else close to the dimensional door he had found. Instead it was this annoying brat who thought himself to be rightful king of some kingdom or another and was convinced that any world he stepped foot on would immediately fall to their knees in supplication. It was pathetic. And he apparently hadn't learned his lesson well enough from when that dimension's version of Earth's heroes had defeated him. Savage decided that it didn't really matter because, in the end, he got what he wanted. He'd told Loki of his idea that there were doorways between dimensions and that that was what they had been conversing through. He explained that he was currently on a planet other than Earth, awaiting the chance to get back at the heroes that populated his planet. He had told Loki of his idea that when someone went through a hole in their dimension, they didn't come out in the same spot in the opposite dimension. For example, Loki had found no traces of a hero or civilian coming out into Antarctica around the time Falcon went missing from Savage's dimension.

Savage was convinced that this was the fate that had befallen the young hero. There was no other explanation for it. There was no ash on the ground if he were vaporized and if the MFD was using him as an outlet for its power then surely only one of two options would have occurred. Either Falcon should have become super charged with power or he should have blown-up. If he'd become super-charged, he would have still been there and if he'd blown-up, there would be traces of it on the snow. Neither of those things were true. That was when Savage had found the line in the atmosphere, the one that looked like a seal up hole. And he'd somehow known that Falcon, sorry Kid Flash now, had gone through that hole, the power from the MFD acting as a way to transport him. And that was all he knew. He couldn't figure anything else out. He needed someone on the other side who knew how to research that kind of thing and Kid Flash was the only true option however much it pained him to admit it. He knew that the fool would try to research the idea in his new dimension, so he'd ordered Loki to find him by finding who was researching the idea. It had worked out well.

The only thing was that apparently Kid Flash was young, around fourteen. He'd been crime fighting for almost eight years. That would have made him six when he started and Savage was certain that he hadn't started that young. That led to the idea that Kid Flash was somehow de-aged. Based on the de-aging and the fact that he was likely using a fake name, Savage couldn't even use the information to find out Kid Flash's real identity which was unfortunate.

Realizing that Loki had probably been waiting for an answer through his musings, Savage announced, "Fine. Inform me when he has recovered enough. Feed him more as well. Speedsters are notorious for their need of food."

Loki responded, "Very well." And Savage had the sudden thought that the fool had probably nodded his head in acknowledgement or something like that. Unfortunately Savage had yet to find a way to let images through the dimensional doorways, so they were only communicating through voice at the time.

Savage settled back into his throne, resting his elbows on the armrests and steepling his fingers. Despite knowing that he was much too far away from Earth to see it, Savage turned his gaze in that direction anyways. He'd discover the mysteries of these trans-dimensional portals and he'd take Kid Flash as his hostage, surprising the heroes of that world with Falcon's sudden reappearance apparently from the dead. He'd have Loki who, although a fool, was quite powerful and the two of them along with all the rest of Savage's allies would converge on Earth. Earth would finally be his.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki is actually a sweetheart.

LLLLLL

Loki mused on the remarkable child that lay on the medical cot in front of him. As he watched, the torn skin knitted itself together and the bruises flourished into color before fading, all happening in a matter of minutes. This was one of the many abilities that came with being a speedster. Remarkable. And this child fought crime, fought super villains, without his vision, only his other senses to guide him in the field. Loki stared at the boy's torn and scarred eyes, noticing that they almost appeared to have been stabbed multiple times. He wondered what story there was behind that. He also wondered where all of the boy's scars came from. With his enhanced healing, there was very little that could manage to permanently mar his skin so that meant that most of the long and short and thick and thin scars that littered his pale chest had been afflicted before he received his speed. Who was it that had beaten these angry marks into his skin then? Who was it that had carved an encircled lightning bolt and a jagged 'J' into his chest? Who had seen fit to hurt such a young child this way?

Even as he watched the prisoner for any signs of depleting life force or worsening condition, Loki saw a firm strength in him that was visible no matter how many times they'd attempted to beat it out of him. How could he stand to take so much pain and yet still not waver in his beliefs, his ideals? Did he truly trust in his friends that much? Loki wondered how those Avengers would react once they knew of his true birth place. He wondered how they would proceed once they realized that he wasn't from this dimension. That he'd been lying to them, playing them like fools, using their resources for his own gains while enacting his own little hero stunt beneath their noses. A small smirk curled Loki's lips as he stared down at the child. If only he'd been transported to this dimension where Loki could have found him first. If Loki had managed to find him when he was confused and disoriented, it wouldn't have taken long to mold the child to his will. And the child had shown quite the penchant for manipulation and planning and intelligence. Savage had told him that it was something to do with one of the child's mentor, Batman or something of the sort. Either way, with this speedster at his side, he wouldn't have to rely on that arrogant, pompous imbecile. He could have simply taken over this Earth and shown them all that he truly was powerful, that he truly was worthy of ruling. They would all bow before him!

But, alas, the child had not fallen into his possession during that ripe time of confusion. Instead Loki had been found by Vandal Savage and had been drafted to join the immortal in his dimension to take over his Earth. Apparently the heroes in that dimension were even more formidable than his own and they were certainly more numerous as well.

Loki was startled from his thoughts when a small whimper drew his attention to the child lying on the cot. Once more Loki marveled at the fact that the boy's injuries were significantly less than they had been last time he'd looked. Evidently Savage was correct when he claimed that copious amounts of food were necessary. The IV in his arm had been pumping in sustenance for a while now and it was speeding up his healing process exponentially. Apparently that did nothing for his mental state which, judging by the whimpers and flashes of pain that flitted across his expression, was not good. Loki wondered idly what the boy was thinking about and whether or not he could use it to his advantage.

The god of mischief and lies jumped in his seat again when the boy started mumbling. Loki couldn't understand a word he said and leaned closer to listen. The boy mumbled again, "It' ' .Thisisfakethisisn'trealit'snotrealit' ' ?They'relookingformeright?Pleasedon' ,please,please!" After listening for a few seconds, Loki figured out that Kid Flash was mumbling to himself at super speed. How annoying. Now he couldn't listen in and use it as a weapon against him.

At least, that's what he thought until the mumbles became slower and more coherent and louder. Wally gasped out, "Please don't hurt me! Dad please! No! No, I'm not a freak; I'm not a monster. My speed makes me special, not a menace. Please, please don't! You, you can't take my eyes! I want to see! I can't run if I can't see! Please! Someone, help! Help me! Please! Bruce? Oh Bruce, thank the gods you're here. Please help me. My, my dad – my real dad was going to hurt me again and I didn't… Bruce? What's going on? Why aren't you saying anything? Tim? Cass? Jason, Damian, Dick? What are you doing? Why won't you say anything? Aren't you going to help me? No! No! Not again, please don't hurt me again. I can't… I can't take my family fighting me again. Please!" Loki watched, eyes wide and breath short, as Wally jerked into awareness, literally blurring into in a sitting position, a scream tearing past his lips.

The speedster's breath was ragged and quick as he tried to catch his breath. Loki did nothing more than stare at him as the boy struggled for control, chest heaving and sweat coating his skin. There was a moment of stillness, a tableau scene of despondent misery before Wally jerked again and twisted his head towards Loki, his breath stuttering again, causing a fit of coughing. Loki couldn't help it when he surged forward to gently lower Wally into a sitting position with his back resting against the wall. Wally shivered and Loki drew the thin blanket around the boy's shoulders, a little unnerved by the way that Wally's broken eyes never settled on him as the boy's head turned this way and that. Wally's voice was as ragged as his breath, stuttering out in a guttural cough, "Loki? Where 'm I?"

Loki felt a stirring of concern as the words came out slightly slurred, the obvious lack of cocky tone lending to the conclusion that Wally wasn't entirely lucid at the moment. For a second, Loki grinned to himself, marveling at this opportunity to get the information he needed from the wretched child. The moment was broken was a large knot of guilt furled in his stomach at the sound of a sob coming from the bed in front of him. In his eight days of captivity here, Wally had never cried. He'd barely screamed. Most of the time when he made any sort of noise it was to throw insults and quips. And now, now he was sobbing, clutching the blanket the best he could with weak fingers. Loki barely resisted the urge to take the boy up in his arms and cradle him into a restful sleep. Where on Midgard had that idea come from?

The sobbing intensified, racking the speedster's thin frame. As Loki watched, he realized how very thin the frame was. He could see every rib and his stomach was practically concave. He looked like a fully formed skeleton with a thin layer of skin over the top. Even as he watched the boy was fleshing out, but still. It wasn't enough and it wasn't fast enough. Bruises still marred his skin and his old scars mixed with his new wounds suddenly made Loki feel sick instead of triumphant. The sobbing slowly tapered off into trickles of tears and broken hiccups. Wally's voice broke into the sudden silence, "I wanna go home."

For the first time since arriving at this place, Wally sounded like a fourteen year old who'd been kidnapped and tortured. For the first time he sounded like something other than a grizzled veteran who was determined to protect his secrets until death. A moment passed where Loki wanted to assure this child who had obviously been through too much in too short a life that he would go home and that he would get a chance to be happy again, but he snapped out of it soon enough. He was starting to wonder if the boy had some sort of charm attached to him or something, but deep down he knew that Wally had no such thing and that it was just his own bright personality that made people feel this way about him. Clenching his fists, he forced the words out, "You can go home, Wally. All you have to do is tell me more about your dimensional hole theory and a little bit more about your speed. Once you tell me that, I-."

He was interrupted by Wally's head rolling towards him on his thin shoulders. Even though he knew the child hero couldn't see, Loki felt like Wally was looking into his soul. Wally's voice was a quiet whisper that sounded so, so broken as he said, "I wanna go home. I want to see Matt again and the Avengers an' Fantastic Four and… then… then I wanna go home home. I want to see Bruce and my brothers and my sister and Uncle B and Aunt I. I wanna see the twins and Bart and I just want to go home. I want to hold my girlfriend and give her that ring, ask her to marry me like I'd been planning to. I want to tell her how beautiful she is even though I've never seen her and I wanna kiss her and just be in her presence. And I wanna see my friends, Roy and Uncle Ollie and Aunt Dinah and Uncle Hal and Grandpa Jay and Grandma Joan and Kaldur and Megan and Conner and Zatanna and Raquel and Jinx and Babs an' all the new people and I just want to be in a world where people know me and love me and have shared memories with me for longer than seven months and I just. Want. To go. Home."

Loki felt the icy walls he'd erected around his heart melt, felt his heart soar at the freedom, felt it soar out to this broken young child in front of him, confessing his fears and insecurities and basic wants to a stranger – an enemy even – because there was no one else at the moment to tell. He'd bared his heart to Loki in a moment of pain induced confusion, confessed the burning desire that kept him going in this brand new dimension where he was nobody, where he had no place, no family, no friends, nothing. He'd had to completely remake himself and lie to everyone he came to know. And he'd trusted this information to Loki who could easily write down the names he'd heard to tell to Savage, effectively ruining those people's lives and, essentially, Wally's life as well. He could use this information to blackmail the child into anything he wanted because he obviously loved these people and yet, yet… he couldn't bring himself to even consider it. This child, this sad boy, this broken soldier, a consequence of the war and greed and corruption of adults, reminded Loki of himself and he couldn't find it within himself to push the broken soldier any further towards the point of no return. He couldn't find it within himself to break him permanently. Right now, he had his small little bundle of hope that could be used to pull himself back together again as many times as he needed to (and Loki couldn't help but wonder how many times he'd already had to pull his broken soul back together again) and would continue to pull him back together until the day that someone blew the little flame of hope out.

Watching as the boy dissolved into tears again, Loki decided that he would not be the one who blew out that little flame and he would not watch as others did it either. He wasn't by any means going to become a good guy or a hero or something equally ridiculous, but he would help this boy. He would be the guardian who watched him from afar, tearing apart anyone who dared to lay a finger on this boy, who dared to try to destroy that hope that was the only thing he had left. He would protect him for better or worse.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rescue team has arrived!

PPPPPP

Peter gnawed on his lower lip slightly, resisting the urge to run his hands through his hair because, well, his hair was currently under a mask and rubbing one's mask was just plain weird. He sighed and rested his head in his hands as he thought about the conversation that'd just finished.

Johnny had asked the question that they'd all obviously been wondering, "Dude, cut to the chase. Who is this guy that you think partnered up with Loki?"

"I think… I think it's a guy called Vandal Savage." Peter had finally answered. Inwardly he'd been cringing. He was the only person who Wally had trusted enough to give this information and there he was giving it all away. He was the worst friend ever.

Natasha's voice had been sharp when she'd asked, "Who is Vandal Savage? I don't remember seeing any SHIELD files about him."

"That's because there aren't any." A voice had announced from the door. Everyone had turned to see Director Fury staring back at them, his one eye cold and calculating. Spiderman was feeling more and more guilty. Now the director of SHIELD was learning Wally's secrets. This was exactly what the speedster had been trying to avoid his entire time in this dimension.

At his announcement, the heads in the room had swiveled back in Peter's direction and he'd struggled for words to say. How much could he give away? How much was too much? Steve's voice was deliberately kind when he said, "Please give us more information. We can't do this without information."

"That's the thing though!" Peter had finally exploded, "I don't think Savage is even going to be a problem and there's a chance that I'm completely wrong and Kid's not even in Antarctica and all of this is giving away all of the secrets he entrusted me with! I'm betraying him utterly and completely!"

Matt's gruff voice spoke up before anyone else could get a word in, "You know he'd forgive you. I don't think he's ever been angry for longer than a half an hour before he gets over it and is back to his cheerful self, problems forgiven and forgotten."

Tony's amazed voice came from slightly behind Matt, "I think that's the most I've heard him say in one go." Clint had snorted but smothered it when Matt's head turned in their direction. They probably thought he was glaring at them and Peter had to stop the small bubble of hysterical laughter that had wanted to emerge.

Taking another second to decide, Peter thought over his options. On the one hand, this really could lead to nothing. On the other hand, this could be valuable advice. And he'd already put his foot in it by mentioning it in the first place so even if he didn't tell them, they'd pester him and/or Wally about it until the information was given out anyways. Sighing, Peter closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath before letting it out again and beginning to speak, "I don't know much about Vandal Savage. He's a, an immortal. Kid said something about him having been alive for fifty thousand years or something. He was a cave-man. Apparently he got struck by a meteor and got longevity, incredible healing – like, healing that puts KF's to shame – and strength, increased stamina and speed. It also greatly increased his intelligence, plus he's been alive for a long time so he's definitely had the chance to study. He's like a mega bad guy and KF's on his bad side."

"How did Kid Flash get on his bad side?" Clint asked, suddenly serious.

Peter bit his lip again, wearing it with his teeth. If he told them about Wally stopping his crimes, they wouldn't believe him because they had no record of any immortal committing crimes that were stopped by Kid Flash. Or they'd start to suspect that Savage wasn't from this dimension and the whole game would be up then. Peter spoke slowly, carefully, "Savage had put together an organization with the intent of taking over the world. Kid Flash, before he put on the hero outfit of Kid Flash, stopped him and the organization before it could go too far."

"So Vandal Savage knows Kid Flash's secret identity?" Johnny's voice sounded hurt and Peter knew that he was feeling left out in light of the depth of secrets that Peter and Wally had shared. The idea that this villain would know what Johnny didn't must have hurt.

"I don't think he knew before Loki captured Kid Flash. At least, from everything KF said, Savage had no idea what his civilian identity was." Peter answered honestly, willing the sincerity to help Johnny feel better. The terrible trio as they were called by the Fantastic Four needed to have a serious talk when this was all over.

Steve's voice held dawning recognition as he said, "That suit that he was wearing during the battle of New York. He wore that to fight Vandal Savage and that organization didn't he?"

Peter smiled beneath his mask. He'd seen that costume and he thought it was pretty cool but his current one was cooler if only because of how bright it was. He answered, "Yeah, he did. He went by Falcon when he was wearing that."

Bruce apparently caught the undertones in Peter's words and asked, "Did he have a different suit other than his Kid Flash one and his Falcon one?"

Wincing slightly as secret after secret poured out of him, Peter said, "Yeah, when wearing the other one he was called Swift. You wouldn't have heard of either of those heroes because he never really got around in them. The only one he publically debuted was the Kid Flash one." He paused but then spoke again before anyone else could try, "Look, I've given out so much more info than I should have already. I'm pretty sure different names that he went by in the past is not relevant to his current situation and since he's been kidnapped by a psychopath – sorry Thor – I would feel much better if we actually left to go find him instead of sitting around talking."

Steve had taken charge at that point, directing everyone on their roles. They had the coordinates that Peter had found, but nothing else. They would be going into the building blind and there was no telling who all Loki had in the building with him. There was no telling whether or not Wally was even there. They had been paired off in groups of two, Spiderman and Daredevil, Black Widow and Hawkeye, Captain America and Thor. Iron Man and Bruce were to wait in the quinjet to provide extra support and medical attention if needed. They would also be the ones to call in back-up or clean-up when the time came. Spiderman's team and Black Widow's team were to search the halls for Wally as a first priority and Captain America's team was supposed to go after Loki; keep him distracted. The Fantastic Four would stay where they were and keep looking for possible locations of where Wally was in case he wasn't in Antarctica. They were also kept behind because there was a chance that Wally didn't have his mask on and none of them wanted his secret exposed like that.

From there on they'd moved to the quinjet and were all sitting in mostly silence. The only ones talking were Bruce and Tony by the medical section, going over supplies. Then Black Widow slid into the seat next to Peter and he turned to face her, putting on a reassuring smile before realizing that she couldn't see it and she probably wouldn't want to see it. It was Black Widow after all. She leaned closer to him and said quietly, "I'm glad you chose to share that information with us, Peter."

He bobbed his head in a small nod, still feeling that crushing guilt, before her words caught up with him and he jerked his head up, eyes wide beneath the mask and said, "W-what? Who's Peter?"

"Don't worry, I haven't told anyone and no one but me's figured it out. I'm talking quietly enough that Steve won't hear me but your hearing will still pick it up. I'm also masking my lips enough that Clint won't be able to lip read the conversation. I won't tell SHIELD, but I think that you should. At the very least it'll support Wally when he realizes that his secret is out." Black Widow murmured back at the same volume.

Heart racing and trying to slow down, Peter took a moment to be amused by her attempt (very good one apparently because Peter was considering it) to manipulate him into telling SHIELD his identity. Somehow he knew that she wouldn't tell them without his consent, but he was still confused. Voice still low, he asked, "Why?"

Her lips curled into a smile that might have been fond but also might have been murderous and she whispered, "Us spiders have to stick together." And then she was gone, lightly stepping her way to the other side of the quinjet to sit next to Clint again. He gave her a weird look before shrugging to himself and going back to sharpening his arrows.

Matt tilted his head towards Peter and frowned. Peter barely spoke, his lips almost unmoving, "It's fine. I think I'm going to tell them my secret ID when we get back. She was right, I guess. It's only fair to do that so Wally's not alone." He knew that Matt had heard the entire conversation. Matt's frown deepened and he gave a minute shake of the head. Peter sighed sadly and said, "I know. I know that this is a dangerous decision and I might end up really regretting it, but… I feel like this is the right choice. I might change my mind before we get back and I'll definitely find a way to talk to Wally about it first. I still, still think it's the right decision." Matt continued his frown for a few seconds before letting out a breath of air and nodding to him, flashing a small reassuring smile. Peter felt his tension drain away slightly. It would be alright. They would all be alright and everything would turn out great and beautiful and it would all work out. He hoped.

The quinjet continued in its trek towards Antarctica.

WWWWWW

He'd been in the medical ward for about a day before they considered him to be healed. He didn't feel healed. He could still feel some wounds bleeding sluggishly and there was still a hunched feeling of unending cold that curled around him like a sick imitation of a blanket. When Loki told him to stand, his head spun and pounded and vertigo had him tilting, but then, suddenly, there were hands grasping his arms in an attempt to be gentle, quietly steadying him into a standing position. When the rushing in his ears tapered off and the pounding lessened, Wally became aware of Loki standing in front of him, the air displacement indicating that he had his arms out as if to catch Wally if he fell again. It was a comforting feeling to know that someone would catch you if you fell, but it was out of place in this prison they had him in.

As Loki lead him down the hallways, murmuring something about using an alternate method to get the information because apparently the original method wasn't going to work, Wally wondered what had changed. Earlier, Loki would have just stood passively by as Wally crashed to the floor, but this time he'd caught the speedster. And his voice wasn't as full of the sneering quality it normally had. There was still a sneer there, but it felt more forced, a hint of confusion and worry bleeding through instead. Just what had happened while he was recovering?

He didn't get a chance to say anything because in the next moment Loki was opening the door and ushering him into another room. They'd gone up several flights of stairs and it was getting even colder despite the valiant attempt by the heaters that Wally could hear running. Wally stepped into the room and huddled in on himself, hoping that Loki wouldn't notice, but not caring enough anymore to stop himself on the off chance that Loki was paying attention. So what if he was showing a weakness? He was freezing! Then a voice spoke into the silence, "I've brought him as you requested." That was Loki. Who was he talking to? There wasn't anyone else in the room, or if there was, they didn't have a heartbeat. Wally couldn't even hear machines buzzing like there always was if someone was viewing them via Skype or something, nor could he hear the customary wind sounds of a portal (he wasn't quite sure why they always sounded windy, but they did).

Then a voice responded and Wally felt his heart still in his chest, "Good. So, Wally, I hear you are being stubborn." The man drawled his name, dragging it out to make sure that Wally knew that he knew. That man… that monster. Vandal Savage.

He flashed the area the voice was coming from a grin and responded cheerfully, "I'm not stubborn, my way is just better."

"Watch your tone." Loki snapped at him, having been on the receiving end of many such comments. There was an odd affliction in his voice, though. The tone was warning, it always was, but this seemed to be more of a 'I don't want you to get hurt' warning and less of a 'do this so I have an excuse to hurt you' warning, but Wally might just be reading too much into the situation.

Vandal Savage's voice appeared in the air again, breaking the moment, "There is no need for that. He will not be speaking to me like that for long. I'm sure you have some questions. Why don't we do it this way. You ask me a question and I swear to be truthful and then I'll ask you a question that you answer truthfully. You can find out more about your home dimension and I can get what I want. It's a win-win situation." There was no kindness in his voice, no olive branch being offered. His voice was cruel and mocking and made Wally seethe, but he needed information. The problem was that there was no way for him to know if Vandal would tell the truth or not. He couldn't ask him about his family or the other heroes anyway because that could bring certain people unwanted attention. As long as he was focusing on Wally, he wasn't focusing on others.

So, Wally smirked and said, "Alright, you're on. How are you talking to us right now when you're still in the other dimension?" That was a pretty neutral question and it was practically guaranteed that Savage would be truthful in answering this question because it had the potential to help Wally in figuring things out in his research.

Savage's voice was smug when he asked, "I found one of those dimensional holes you discovered. With a few spells, I was able to make it so I could speak to whomever was on the other side, which just so happened to be Loki and it just so happened to open up in Antarctica. The spells are quite easy and Klarion could teach them to Loki with no problem if that helps you with your research. I have not yet been able to get the holes to open, however." He paused and Wally nodded distractedly, already adding the new information to his former thoughts on the subject. There was going to have to be a mixture of magic and science for this to work. He was so lucky that Zatanna (and Doctor Fate sometimes even though that was kind of awkward) had taken the time to explain magic to him, showing him how it works and even teaching him some spells, not that he had the magical abilities to actually cast them. Savage's voice brought him back out of his reflective state, "What is the secret identity of Superman?" Wally wondered why not ask what his own secret ID was, but then figured that if Loki had described him to the immortal then it really wouldn't take long to figure out who he was. That's a problem.

Wally grinned and said, "Could you ask an easier question pretty please?"

He heard the growl, deep and low in Vandal Savage's throat and the man started, "Now you listen to me! You are going to do exactly as I say and-,"

Wally cut him off before he could go any further, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were an expert on my life and how I should live it. Please, give me a second to grab a pencil and some paper and then continue while I take notes."

The growl was more pronounced this time, almost overtaking Loki's hissed, "Stop it!" That was curious that he was warning the speedster against annoying other villains. Was he scared of Savage?

"You think you are so smart, so funny with your annoying drivel! You are nothing!" Savage growled.

Wally sniffed derisively and shrugged, choosing to ignore that last comment, "I wouldn't be such a smart aleck if you didn't give me so much to work with." This was what Wally lived for. It was what he was best at out in the field. Annoy an opponent enough and eventually they'll slip up.

Savage's voice was tight with barely repressed rage, "You are lucky I am in a different dimension right now. If I had you where I could get my hands I you, you would dream and beg of the days stuck in that prison you are in now. I would make what Loki's men have done to you feel like heaven. Do not anger me, boy."

"Wow," Wally drawled, "You take clichéd to a whole new level. Do they, like, have a handbook or something for that? 'Super Villain Threats and Comebacks for Any Dimension' written by Wimpy Moron. They should make one for superheroes too so we have something equally stupid to say in response to the stupid things you say." He heard Loki sigh deeply from behind him and could just imagine the man pinching his nose and breathing in and out to keep himself from strangling Wally or shooting him with that dreaded ice.

He could hear Vandal Savage readying himself for another threat, but he didn't pay it any mind. He had heard the door open and the heartbeats of Peter, Matt, and the Avengers walking in. They were being quiet and it didn't seem like anyone else had noticed, but Wally couldn't help the thoughts that ran through his mind. He was happy to be rescued, but he didn't want them to overhear anything. They were going to find out.

PPPPPP

The coordinates had ended up leading to a spot just to the side of Mount Vinson, the highest mountain in Antarctica. It made sense in a way that Loki would set up camp there. If he wanted to be closer to the dimensional hole, it would be best to pick the highest mountain. Wally had only suspected this place because this was where he had been running around the MFD that sent him to this dimension. Wally still got nightmares from that and would occasionally have panic attacks when he unraveled a tornado or something. Bruce had taken control of the quinjet and had put the three teams down at separate locations around the building they'd found high in the tallest mountain. Each would enter by a separate door and go towards the center.

Peter and Matt had found the med bay, recently used. According to Matt, the bed was still slightly warm and the person in it had likely gotten out of it only recently. Steve and Thor found the command room and flipped through all the rooms to find out where Wally was. Apparently he was at the highest point, in a room with Loki and a blue line in the air. There was no sound and Loki was blocking most of Wally from view of the camera so they couldn't give them much more information. Natasha and Clint had found the prison cell. They'd all known what they'd found when Clint's sharp breath had echoed over the comm lines. Natasha had described it anyways, clearing her throat and saying, "This is the, uh, prison cell that… Kid Flash was likely held in. It – it was definitely his unless there was another prisoner." No one asked how she knew. No one wanted to know.

It hadn't taken long for the rest of them to trek through the hallways and to a staircase leading up. Steve had given them all directions and had instructed them on where the guards were and where they seemed to be headed. It wouldn't be long before the alarm was raised, but Tony and Bruce had the quinjet ready to fly straight over the room Wally and Loki were in, providing for a quick escape.

The walk up the stairs was silent, everyone lost in their own thoughts and stuck between terrified of what they would find and overjoyed at the thought of getting Wally back. Captain America went first, motioning for silence and creeping into the room. The more time they had before someone noticed them, the better. Only Spiderman and Daredevil noticed how Wally froze slightly before relaxing almost instantly. It was obvious he'd heard them. They could only see his hand and a portion of his leg, the rest was hidden by Loki, and they dared not move around too much. They needed the perfect opportunity. Plus, according to Captain America, they didn't know where Vandal Savage was and they didn't want to give him the opportunity to attack. Spiderman knew that Vandal was, in effect, the blue line that was pulsing slightly as a voice issued out a threat. He obviously didn't recognize the voice, but he recognized the colored line as the dimensional hole it was. Savage's voice tapered off at the end of a threat. There was silence, Wally obviously trying to get a lock on his emotions so he wouldn't give away his friends, and then Savage asked, "You're awfully quiet. Has it finally sunk in that you are at my mercy? Are you finally worried?"

"I don't get worried. I'm a giver." Wally announced cheekily and Peter hoped that no one else could hear the fear in Wally's voice. It suddenly occurred to him that a lot of Wally's secrets could come out this way.

Loki finally spoke up, gaining a pained look from his brother, "This isn't working. He isn't going to give anything up."

"He will if I threaten his friends." Savage's voice threatened.

Wally snorted, his voice completely at ease, "If you were in any position to hurt my friends, the world would be yours by now. Face it; you need to ask a hero for help because you're too stupid to do it on your own. Even with your enhanced intellect. It makes me wonder how you were before you got that. I don't know how you even survived on a day to day basis." That was the Wally that Peter knew. At least they hadn't killed his fighting spirit yet.

Savage's voice was more controlled, anger still evident, but subtle, "Why do you even bother? You know that if you go home you won't be accepted. Your friends don't miss you." Peter saw the group he was standing with bristling, but only he knew that Savage was talking about a very different group of friends. The immortal continued, "You'll never fit back into the world they built without you. I mean, how old are you now?" Peter winced when he saw the confused expressions decorating the rescue party's faces. It was a pretty strange question out of context. Maybe they thought that Savage meant that the Avengers wouldn't accept a young hero?

Peter saw Wally's fist clench before he responded nonchalantly, "Every second I'm one second older; can't count them all."

Loki's voice was exasperated as he announced primly, "This is a waste of time Savage. He's not going to take you seriously when you're in a different dimension. You cannot physically harm him from where you are and he doesn't believe that you can get at any of his friends from where you are either. You aren't going to get anything from him this way."

"Maybe not," the immortal mused, "but I certainly hurt him somewhere. Words can be such a damaging thing, especially for one who is so insecure that they must hide behind brash comments and annoying remarks. I expect his cooperation soon." And with that there was the sound of footsteps echoing around the room as Savage apparently left wherever the hole came out in his dimension.

Peter was gaping at Loki, his mask luckily covering his facial expression. That was a great way to just give away that secret. Wally could have explained that blue line away easily but there Loki went and just ruined any chance of that. He almost missed the hand signal that Captain America gave to start the attack. Now that it was just Loki and Wally, it was the perfect chance. Before anyone could move, however, Loki turned around. Peter took a moment to enjoy the shocked expression on Loki's face before he darted around the god, noting Daredevil doing the same thing on the other side. The two of them, being the ones most acquainted with Wally, would get him away from the battle and secured before joining back in to defeat Loki.

That wasn't exactly how it worked, however. Daredevil and Peter reached Wally (Peter tried not to gag at the sight of Wally, emaciated, bloody, pale) and pulled him away from Loki, being mindful of his injuries. They turned just in time to hear Loki say, "I do not intend to fight you. You may take my prisoner if you wish and I will give you all the information you want on Vandal Savage."

Steve's voice was wary as he asked, "Why would you do that?"

Peter caught the look Loki sent Wally, something caught between concern and determination, before the villain spoke, "I was bored of being partnered with Savage. He was quite frankly annoying. He seemed to believe that he was above me. And that Klarion character who was there almost as often as he was. There is nothing that can possibly make me feel friendly towards Klarion."

Wally's pained laugh broke the tense silence that had descended, "You can say that again. He was probably the most annoying villain I've ever faced. Magical abilities that put yours to shame but with the mentality of a spoiled five year old." Peter winced as he realized that commenting was probably the worst thing Wally could have done. All attention swiveled to him and several gasps were heard. Peter knew that they were taking in the intense scarring on his arms and chest, especially the Flash (they would know it as the Kid Flash) symbol and the 'J' carved into his chest. They were seeing the state of his eyes and they were seeing the state of his body after a week in this prison. Wally winced slightly too, apparently coming to the same realization.

Black Widow kept a clear head, steering the attention back to Loki, "Last time we captured you, you had wanted to be captured. You had a plan to set Hulk loose on the helicarrier and take out our engines while you were at it. What makes this time any different?"

Wally's voice was so, so very tired when he spoke again, interrupting whatever Loki had been about to say, "I trust him. Besides we should get on his good side anyways. He has my stuff and the only chance at getting out of these enchanted chains." Peter started and glanced down, seeing that there were indeed chains around Wally's wrists and ankles. He could see the blood crusted over the edges of them from where Wally had pulled and pulled until the skin broke. He wanted to get angry at Loki, to run up and punch him with all of his power, but the tone of Wally's voice took all of the wind out of his sails. Wally's voice had been filled with so much joy about finally being able to leave this place and so much fear about the questions he was undoubtedly going to be asked and so much anger at Vandal Savage continuing to interfere with his and so much sadness at not being back in his home dimension and so much hope that the way home was finally starting to become clear. It was heartbreaking and it reminded Peter that the Avengers and Daredevil and the Fantastic Four and himself hadn't gotten the worst out of this situation. It was Wally who had suffered the worst and he just wanted to go somewhere where he was loved and cared for.

The sound of metal breaking and clanging on the floor broke Peter out of his reverie and he jumped slightly, glancing down and seeing that Wally's chains had broken, bouncing slightly before rolling to a stop. A second later a small bag was thrown at the teen, who caught it easily if with a wince. Loki's voice was cold with just a hint of fondness as he said, "I was a bit curious about the many rings that have magic clinging to them, especially the green one. I was also curious about the ring without magic or any sort of gadgetry and the little book with nothing written in the pages. Those don't really seem like things a hero would carry around with them."

"Sentimental value." Wally answered easily, taking the last two mentioned items out of his bag and running his fingers over them reverently, a ghost of a smile passing across his lips. He turned his head towards Loki and said, "Thanks."

The god seemed surprised by the comment and stuttered out a, "I'm just doing this because you're more interesting than anything else on this planet, not because I like you or something ridiculous like that." Thor gave his brother a confused look, obviously seeing straight past the lie. Peter just smiled at the thunderstruck expression Loki was trying to hide behind a sneer. Wally was like that. He forgave easily even if he didn't immediately trust again.

While the others worked on getting the quinjet to the location and finding a way to make sure that Loki wouldn't escape (apparently deciding that his apparent fondness for the blind hero made his surrendering less likely to be a trick), Peter and Matt turned their attention to the shaking boy in front of them. Matt's voice was soft and kind, something that almost no one got to hear when he was in his suit, "Are you alright? What hurts? Where are you injured?"

"I'm fine, Daredevil. I just need some food." Wally responded, waving his hand in the air easily, trying to reassure them.

Daredevil's voice was flat when he said, "You told me that when you broke your leg in four places. You said, 'I'm fine, Daredevil. I just need some food. You know, run it off.' Your leg failed halfway across the street and I had to pull you out of the street before a truck ran you over."

Clint guffawed from behind them, asking, "Seriously? You broke your leg and said that you could run it off? You're worse than I am! And that's saying something."

Steve's serious voice broke in before anyone could say anything else, "Seriously, where are you injured? You need to let us know while we wait for the quinjet to arrive so Bruce and Tony can prepare."

"What's taking them so long?" Natasha practically growled, causing Loki to cast her a concerned glance, stepping a little bit to the side.

Steve frowned, "Apparently a snow storm appeared and they had to fly around it. It'll take them a while longer."

"Brother, are there others who wish to cause harm to us who will appear in this room soon?" Thor boomed.

His brother shot him an annoyed look before saying, "They will if you continue to speak so loudly. They were given orders to keep patrolling the grounds while I kept Wally up here to speak with the partner. Unless one of you left something behind that made it obvious that someone broke in, and I sincerely hope you did not because I arranged the guard shifts and the locks so you wouldn't leave anything behind when you came in, they will not come up here."

Matt's voice broke into the conversation again, "Kid Flash. Injury report. Now." The scary voice was back and Peter was amused to see a flit of panic cross Steve and Clint's faces. Never mind the fact that the same expression flitted across his own face. He was the only one smart enough to wear a mask that covered his whole face so he got allowances like that. Ha.

Wally sighed, the sound forced out through his nostrils, and said, "I'm not sure. I, uh, got some rest yesterday. Er, I think it was yesterday. Either way I got some rest the other day and my healing is going into overdrive now that it has enough to power it. I wasn't getting enough food and so I wasn't healing fast enough. I had a couple of broken ribs, some broken fingers and toes, a broken wrist and sprained ankle. I dislocated my shoulder and there were a lot of lacerations and bruising and I definitely lost some fingernails. Stuff like that, but I'm healing right now. I'm fine really. The biggest problem they're going to have is re-setting my wrist, fingers, and toes because they're going to have to break the bones again to get it straight. There are down-sides to speed healing." A small, bitter grin touched his lips and Peter remembered that Wally hadn't asked for his superpowers.

Loki's voice popped up from behind them, "He also has malnutrition and a mild case of hypothermia, although I believe that the latter ailment is cured by now." Natasha glared at him; apparently listing more of the injuries/problems you caused does not help to endear you to the Avengers.

Wally nodded good-naturedly, "Yep, that too. Wait, really? I had hypothermia? Apparently I had less food than I thought. Normally my molecules are vibrating fast enough on their own that I generate a lot of heat. I'm basically a human furnace. It's kind of hard for me to get hypothermia, but apparently I managed. Woohoo." The glare Natasha was directing at Loki intensified.

Silence settled over the group as they waited for the quinjet to find its way around the storm and to their location (they hadn't wanted it too close in case it was spotted and the alarm rose). Finally, Steve broke the silence, his voice heavy with guilt. He said, "We're going to have to ask you some questions. You've been keeping a lot from us." Wally's shoulders tightened and he leaned away imperceptibly. Spiderman heard Loki's low warning growl and wondered when the god had become so protective of the speedster. Steve disregarded both things and stared into Wally's face intently, "If you stopped Vandal Savage and the organization he worked with, and neither he nor you knows how trans-dimensional travel words, how did he end up in a different dimension?"


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt is the best dad and the Terrible Trio are amazing.

WWWWWW

Wally's heart froze. How was he going to explain this? What could he possibly say that would explain how Vandal Savage was in another dimension? Did they suspect that he came from another dimension? He didn't even know how he got to this dimension! Wally's heart started again, racing forward in a panicked frenzy and his fingers clenched, gripping the material of his pants. He felt a dull ache where his fingers, healed wrong, bent at the wrong angle, bones crunching together in a painful way. His breath was coming out in short puffs and he had a sudden powerful feeling of claustrophobia. The walls were too close. The people were too close. Matt and Peter were holding onto his arms and they weren't letting go and he couldn't getawaycoudln'trunheneededtorunthat'sallhewantedwhycouldn'thejustrun?

Peter's growl brought him out of his thoughts, "Why don't you leave him alone until he's healed? Or at least until we get out of this prison. He was just tortured for a week. Don't you think he deserves a little bit of leeway? Back off. Now." Wally could practically feel the confusion and worry that was permeating the room after that. Spiderman never talked that way; he was always happy and joking around and, well, like Kid Flash. Now Kid Flash was quiet and pale and hurt and Spiderman was growling protectively at his side. It kind of said something about how far everything's spiraled.

Matt's soft voice came from his other side, making him feel more like he was wrapped in a soft blanket and less like he was trapped in a small room, "The quinjet will be here soon. Once they treat you I'll make sure they let you go for a run before they start asking questions. Okay?" It was comforting to know that Matt knew exactly what to do to calm him down. It wasn't as good as when Uncle Barry would run laps around the world with him until they were both out of breath. The two would stop in a remote forest and listen to the sounds of the animals and the rivers and the sky overhead and, once he'd calmed down enough, Uncle Barry would listen as he poured out whatever had been bothering him at that particular time.

Peter's voice, just as quiet and soothing as Matt's, spoke again, this time only for Wally's ears, "Why don't you take me with you? The two of us can find somewhere nice to hang and we'll talk it all out. Then, if you feel up to it, we'll grab Johnny and talk to him. I think he should be one of the first to know." Wally could tell from the errant strain in his friend's voice that Peter was trying to make a decision and he figured that he wouldn't be the only one talking when they found a good place to relax. He nodded slightly, leaning into Matt's touch like he was still a kid and Linda's hugs and shoulder bumps were the only positive touch he'd felt.

Just then Steve announced, "They're here. Loki's told us that the roof is fake, just there to keep out the cold, so he's going to remove the spell and then the quinjet is going to lower into the room. Daredevil and Spiderman are going to take Kid Flash in to be treated. Hawkeye will take control of the quinjet and I'll radio the helicarrier. Black Widow and Thor are in charge of making sure Loki doesn't escape." With his last word, Wally felt a piercing chill race into the room, chasing out any last vestiges of warmth. It felt like he was back in his cell again, getting hit with ice spell after ice spell after ice spell. He shivered viciously, his whole body practically convulsing with the need to get warm again. He could feel his healing slow as his energy devoted itself to vibrating his molecules faster so he'd be warmer. What were they thinking? He didn't even have a shirt on! There was a sudden shout and Wally heard Peter and Matt stiffen, but before anyone could move, there was a warm cloak or cape or something wrapped around him, easily covering his fourteen year old body and encasing him in a blessed, blessed warmth.

Sniffing the air delicately, he smelt the traces of Loki's scent on the material and realized that the god must have draped his cape over the speedster. He grabbed its edges with his fingers and pulled it tighter around him, mumbling a quick, "Thank you."

The only response he got was a small scoff and a, "I don't want such an interesting creature to die. I'd be bored then." Nevertheless, Wally felt a small smile curl the edges of his lips and, somehow, knew that Loki was fighting the same reaction. The god really wasn't as bad as everyone seemed to think he was.

Before anyone could comment on Loki's uncharacteristic gesture, the quinjet had landed in the room and Wally was being ushered up the ramp, the others following behind him. Banner had him in a bed, listing his injuries, in no time. The jet hadn't even taken off again by the time Banner had started to work on him, Tony hovering nearby and grabbing anything the doctor claimed to need. After a few moments, Peter came back over with a bag of food, leaning in for a hug and using the opportunity to whisper, "Matt will find a way to open the ramp out of the quinjet. He'll whistle quietly right before he opens it. I'll grab you and we'll swing down by web and once we touch the ground we'll switch to running. We have to move fast."

Lips quirking, Wally replied, "Fast is my middle name."

Peter snorted, "No, your middle name is Rudolph."

Wally stuck his tongue out at his friend, giggling alongside him as Banner clucked his tongue at the two of them, probably frustrated at Wally's movements while he was trying to treat him. Tony laughed before asking loudly, "Your middle name's Rudolph?"

Cheeks burning as he heard a few more laughs throughout the quinjet, Wally pouted, "Yeah. So what?"

"I didn't know that was your middle name. Any particular reason?" Matt queried.

"Just someone my parents knew. It was a sort of tribute to that person." Wally lied easily.

Tony's voice piped up from beside them, Banner still executing a check-up, "Better question. How did you two meet? And what made you decide to become partners?"

Wally tilted his head towards Matt, a silent plea for his surrogate father to take the question for him because he wasn't ready to start answering anyone's questions. He felt Matt's nod before the man settled back in his chair and started talking, "I was in my civilian clothing with a friend and Wally came up to me, asking to find the library. He said that he was meeting up with a friend who he was going to be staying with for a while, but he was lost. So my friend and I led him to the library and convinced him to give us his friend's number. We called it, but it said that the number didn't exist. Apparently his friend pulled a disappearing act on him, but he said he was fine and that he was just going to wait it out at the library. So I gave him a card with my number on it; in Braille of course, and my friend and I left. Later that night, just outside the library, I ran into him at the payphone while in Daredevil get up; he was evidently trying to call me. He turned around when I dropped into the alley and then he just blurts out my secret ID. I had no idea how he knew who I was but then he explained that he had heightened senses, but they'd gotten a huge boost and he was struggling with them. So I offered for him to stay with a friend of mine, Matt Murdock. Matt was fine with it and, eventually, he just started crime-fighting with me too." Wally smirked when Daredevil talked about 'his friend' Matt.

Banner asked curiously, "Why didn't you just have him stay with you? Alright Wally, you should be fine. Just don't move around too much, okay?" Wally nodded dutifully.

Matt responded, "Can't tell you that. It might give you something that'll help you find out who I am under the mask." With that, Matt whistled. Wally was up in an instant, wrapped around Peter, his bag of possessions already packed back into his suit. Peter was already running as Wally latched on, doing a slide between the ramp and the bottom of the jet, not even waiting for it to open all the way. The two of them started free-falling, ignoring the shouts of the people still in the plane.

The free fall continued on for longer and longer until Wally was certain they were about to hit the ground before Peter's arm shot out, a web slinging from the web shooter and latching onto something. Peter flipped them onto the ground and Wally marveled at the feeling of being out in the open. It wasn't long before he had their positions flipped, this time with Peter on his back, and was running.

It was exhilarating. He'd memorized a lot of pathways in the world, generally just running straight until he had to swerve out of the way of something, and then taking a break before checking his location with his goggles and then moving the direction he needed to go to get home. Right now he was running aimlessly, tasting the air and breathing in the scents as he ran, the muffled sounds of things being blown past at super speed music to his ears. Wind rushed around his body, making him feel like he was flying. Making him feel like so much more than flying. This was so much better, so much more free and beautiful. It was a shame that so few people could truly experience this. It was even more of a shame that he could never fully experience it.

After he'd been running for a while without hearing any sounds of people or settlements, he slowed to a stop. Once he'd plopped to the ground, he realized that he'd ended their run in the middle of a meadow of sorts, fresh fragrant flowers blooming and the sun shining down on them, warming up his cold, cold body (it only then occurred to him that he'd managed to hold onto Loki's cape) and easing his muscles. For the first time since he realized that Clint knew his secret identity, he felt truly relaxed. Peter shuffled into a lying down position next to him and Wally could just imagine his interlocked fingers and his mask pulled up to reveal closed eyes and a blissful expression. Of course, he'd never know what those eyes looked like open or closed or what a blissful expression on his friend's face entailed, but the idea was nice anyways. Peter knew about Wally's little book and had added his, Gwen's, Matt's, and Foggy's visages into the book, giving it to him for Christmas. Peter waited silently while Wally collected his thoughts. The first thing the speedster said was, "I miss Artemis." Peter hummed an encouragement to continue, so Wally did, "She was my light, you know? Every move I made was dedicated to her; every choice I made was made thinking about her interests. That, that whatever it was allowed for communication between dimensions. Even if I don't find a way back, I can still find a way to talk to her. I'm sure of it. I'll be able to find out how everyone is and I'll see if she remained faithful to me." Peter made a questioning noise in the back of his throat so Wally elaborated, "As far as they can probably tell, I'm dead. I mean, if I die before Artemis, I want her to move on and find someone else because she deserves to be loved. But then… I haven't actually died, so I don't want her to move on." He trailed to a stop after that.

Peter spoke next, "I'm thinking about telling the Avengers my civilian identity. At the very least I'm telling Johnny because he deserves to know. I've been keeping this from him for far too long." Wally jerked a little bit in surprise, too tired and relaxed to even tilt his head to the side to imitate looking at Peter. Peter explained anyways, "Well, you know why I'm telling Johnny. And… the Avengers… they know your secret identity, they know a lot of your secrets and some of that is on me and, well, I feel like it'd be better if we went through this together. I'm the only person in this entire dimension that you trusted with your secrets and I gave them away." He held his hand up a little bit to forestall the argument he somehow knew Wally was brewing. He continued, "I know, I was doing it to save you and I know you forgive me. I don't forgive myself though. And, besides, it's not all noble intentions. There's a lot of stress involved with keeping Peter Parker, the intern of the Avengers at Stark Industries separated from Spiderman, occasional teammate of the Avengers and sometimes friend. Every time I see them it's like this is the time they're going to figure it out. Black Widow already figured it out, but she promised not to tell. I'm not really sure why." Wally's lips curled up in a smile at the thought of the spy. Natasha was nice and kind of like a surrogate mother. She kind of reminded Wally of Catwoman or Talia al Ghul. It was disconcerting, but surprisingly nice. Peter kept going, "And I trust them. We've fought together countless times and I can tell that they care about their friends and I'm pretty sure I'm at least kind of a friend, so I feel like I'll almost be safer once they know. I know I'm giving SHIELD blackmail material and a way to control me, but I feel like the pros outweigh the cons."

There was silence for a few seconds before Wally mumbled quietly, "Thanks."

"No problem." Peter answered. He didn't have to clarify and find out what exactly Wally was thanking him for. He knew that Wally was thanking him for everything from the moment they met until that moment in the meadow. He was everything Wally would have wanted in a friend had he chosen to get transported to an alternate dimension with no contacts. Not that he'd ever willingly choose that.

Wally's voice was small as he asked, "What do I tell them?"

"The truth." Peter replied, "Not the whole truth if you don't want to. You can tell them some or a little or a lot or all of it, but you should tell them the truth. It's easiest."

"I'm scared." He shot back honestly.

"Were you scared when you told me?" Peter questioned.

"Terrified." Wally answered immediately.

"And how did that turn out?" Peter prompted.

"Really well." Wally smiled. He could feel Peter smiling back.

Then the older (technically) teen stood up, the muscles in his back creaking and groaning as he shifted them, stretching and shaking off any clinging grass. He helped Wally up with a grunt, pulling him by the arm and huffing out a small laugh, "You should probably change that before we go talk to Johnny. I think he's going to freak out if he sees you like that. Especially with all the scars." Wally nodded, face heating up slightly. He pulled out a ring and raced into the outfit it propelled out, putting the tattered one back in. He felt Peter shaking his head in slight awe beside him. Pressing a button on his goggles, Wally asked his GPS where he was and, once given a location, he picked Peter up bridle style and raced away from that peaceful meadow. He was definitely going back here when this all blows over.

JJJJJJ

Johnny paced around the Baxter building, intermittently growling and running his hands through his hair. He hadn't stopped pacing for a while now and he knew that Sue would have called him on it by now if she didn't know that this was pretty much the only way he wasn't going to lose it and set himself on fire. He had a feeling that Ben shared the sentiment of not-wanting-Johnny-to-set-himself-on-fire, but he also had a feeling that Ben was starting to get annoyed enough that it wouldn't matter. He didn't care. Let Ben get annoyed. Kid Flash was out there somewhere, probably hurt, and he couldn't do anything about it. It was ridiculous! They were the Fantastic Four and somehow they had no resources that could find New York's speedster. Johnny's stomach clenched as his emotions did a 180, swirling from guilt and sadness tp anger and hurt. How did so many people (Spiderman, Daredevil, the Avengers, SHIELD, Loki, this Vandal Savage character) know KF's identity and yet he didn't? He could understand Daredevil because they were partners, but Johnny knew Kid before any of the others did! He met Kid during the speedster's official debut as a hero. Did that not count for anything? Maybe, maybe if Johnny had known Kid Flash's secret ID he could have prevented all this. Maybe he could have protected the kid and everything would have been fine and the speedster wouldn't have been missing for a week with no word on his condition or location.

He took a deep breath, starting his trek back to the other side of the room, not pausing in the least in his pacing. He looked up slightly, casting his gaze over the skyline as if he would see Kid Flash's silhouette running up a building, or Spiderman's arms frantically waving to get his attention, having news on Kid's location. Wait. What? Blinking slightly, Johnny crept closer to the window, peering out it cautiously. There, on the building directly in front of him, Spidey was waving his arms towards the Baxter building, occasionally putting a finger to his lips in a message saying that Spidey wanted him to come without letting the rest of the Four know. He saw a peak of bright yellow hinting over the edge of the building and his breath stuttered in his throat. That… that was Kid Flash's suit. Did that… did that mean what he thought it meant?

Thinking quickly, Johnny called out to his family, "I can't just sit around here. I'm looking around New York again, seeing if I can find him."

Sue called back sadly, "Oh Johnny, please stay here. You know you won't find him. Help us."

His voice was slightly desperate as he said, "I'm not helping anyone here. Please let me do something." He needed to get out of there now. He didn't want to chance his friends disappearing again. He wouldn't lose Kid Flash now that he'd finally gotten a glimpse of him again. Sue sighed, a sad expression marring her face, bruises under her eyes caused by sleep deprivation. She nodded slightly and he was out the door.

Quickly making it to the roof, he ignited, using the flames to propel himself over towards the spot where he'd seen Kid Flash and Spiderman before, but they weren't there. He felt his heart slow to a stop for a second before nodding to himself decisively and deciding that they must have moved on. He hadn't imagined them and they hadn't just disappeared. A fleeting thought ran through his mind that this might be a trap that he was walking into, but he ignored the voice in favor of the much happier one that was almost crying at having seen KF. He flew to the building that they most often sat on and there, lo and behold, sat his two best friends. They were on the roof, just sitting there, their heads turned in his direction. He flew to a stop near them and they stood up, walking towards them. Johnny took a deep breath and did the first thing that came to mind. He punched Kid Flash in the face.

Kid rocked back a few steps and Spidey gasped, trying to put himself between the two of them, but Johnny would have none of that. He pushed past Spiderman, going for KF and engulfing him in a huge hug. He held him tightly for a little while, just comforting himself with the idea that he was there and alive and actually there. For a couple seconds, Kid stiffened in his arms, obviously resisting the urge to pull away. Then, he relaxed into the hug, eventually hugging back. Johnny whispered, "Don't ever do that again! I was worried about you! You can't just up and disappear like that and not tell anyone where you were! The Avengers are probably worried sick about you right now and you're traipsing around New York like nothing bad's happened."

"The Avengers found me, but they didn't get a chance to tell you before Spiderman and I jumped out of the quinjet and ran a couple laps around the world. I needed to get out of there. And then, I wanted to talk to you first." Wally admitted quietly.

Peter added, "We both wanted to talk to you. The Terrible Trio needed some reconnecting to do." The nickname brought a smile to Johnny's face and he noticed Wally cracking a grin as well. It was great to have them back. Quite frankly, he was beyond honored that they even thought about seeing him first.

He sat down, watching as the other two sat in front of him. He said, "Alright, so talk to me. What do you want to talk about?" At this point, he didn't even care what they told him as long as they were talking with him and were alive and safe.

He wasn't prepared for them to take their masks off. Spiderman's slid off easier, pulling quickly over his head and catching on his hair a little bit. A teenager stared back at him, brown eyes and brown hair forming a real face and not red spandex. He announced quietly, "My name's Peter Parker."

Kid Flash's mask came off next. The goggles were pulled off and the cowl slipped down to pool around his neck. Johnny gasped slightly as he took in the torn apart eyes. The rest of the face was relatively normal; high cheekbones, smattering of freckles, pale skin, and that bright red hair, but his eyes. They were covered in criss-crossing scars like someone took a knife to it. They were milky and pitted, only barely discernible as having once been green. Johnny realized that there was no way that the teen (he looked younger than Spiderman – no Peter – who looked even younger than Johnny) wasn't blind. He was a blind speedster. A blind hero. Kid Flash smiled sadly and said, "My name's Wally West-Wayne, but more people know me as Wally Murdock. There's a story behind that if you're willing to hear it."

Johnny glanced between his two friends, noting the serious expressions on their faces (he also saw a little bit of giddy joy mixed in and was amazed to realize that they were so excited because they told him their secret identities). He nodded before realizing that Kid Flash – Wally – wouldn't be able to see it. He said, "Yeah, I wanna hear it."

Peter grinned at him, "You know he can tell when you're nodding, right? That's why so many people think he's blind. He hides it well." Johnny blushed slightly and nodded his head to Peter in thanks for the tip. Peter grinned back.

Then Wally, with a small, nervous smile on his scarred face, began, "I'm not from this dimension."

Johnny actually rocked back a little bit, eyes blown wide, mouth gaping open, thoughts flying in a disordered sprawl. He managed to croak out, "You… you what?"

"You know how they told you about the dimensional holes theory that I was coming up with. That was me trying to find out how I came to this dimension and how to get back to my own." Wally answered, hesitance obviously written on his face, those unseeing eyes unnerving Johnny every time he glanced in the speedster's direction. Johnny caught sight of Peter worrying his lip on the other side of him, obviously just as concerned over the reaction that was likely to come any moment.

To be completely honest, Johnny had no idea how to react. How does one react to something like that? How does one react to the knowledge that someone that was considered a best friend isn't actually from this dimension? How does one react to the knowledge of more than one dimension? How does one react to knowing that one's friend has probably been lying to them the entire time they'd known each other? And, most importantly, how was one to react to all of that at the same time? Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, trying to ignore the normal reaction of igniting, Johnny tried to gather his thoughts together. So, Kid Flash, Wally, had definitely been lying to him about a lot probably. At the same time, the youngest hero had thought to tell Johnny before any of the others (excluding Spiderman, Peter). It was obvious that Wally had been, probably still was, terrified at the thought of people finding out about his secret. Johnny didn't know if it had something to do with fear of how people would react, a general need to keep secrets to maintain a sense of control, or some fear of people using his dimension travelling for their own gains. All he knew, all that mattered, was that Wally had been terrified but had still told him anyways. All that mattered was that Wally eventually trusted him with this information, telling it to him honestly and quickly.

Finding some semblance of control, Johnny finally spoke, "Okay. Okay. I'm… having a hard time, uh, wrapping my head around that and, well, I'm a little miffed that you hadn't told me earlier when you'd obviously trusted Spiderman, but I get that you were probably scared. So… so I'll… I won't get mad about that. I don't think. I'm still, still processing. Why don't you, um, tell me the full story? Tell me about who you were in your dimension first and then, then we'll come back to the, the lying and the travelling dimensions."

Choosing to ignore the guilt that welled up at the relieved sigh Wally let out, Johnny settled into a comfortable position, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes as he let Wally's voice wash over him, telling tales of awful parents, new beginnings, family, friends, loss, and heroes. So many heroes. But just as many villains too. Wally's home dimension sounded very lively. It sounded like the entire universe had it out for his Earth, which was kind of a familiar thought. He'd smiled goofily when he found out that, after less than a year of knowing Johnny and Peter, Wally thought them to be as close of comrades and friends as the people on his Young Justice Team, maybe even almost as close of comrades and friends as his siblings. It was gratifying to hear. He'd felt burning anger at Rudolph West, the Joker, Vandal Savage and the Light, and so many more. So many people had tried to take advantage of Wally, hurting him and stopping him from truly believing in himself. He'd laughed loudly at the descriptions of the Rogues, thinking that it was typical Wally to have villains that loved him like he was kin. The speedster had described the tutoring Sam had given him in physics (not that he'd needed much), the music lessons Hartley had given him, the games of dart he'd played with James. Wally's life had kind of sucked, but there'd been a lot of good things too. There'd been a lot of happiness and joy and meeting new people and loyal friends.

And Wally had told Johnny about Artemis, the love of his life.

By the time he'd finished talking, it was significantly later in the afternoon, the sun well on its way down the path under the horizon. Johnny felt emotionally drained and figured that the other two did as well. Wally was probably aching as well if his description (rather vague description) of his time in captivity throughout the week was any indication. Spiderman and Kid Flash got up to leave, obviously planning on making their way back to the helicarrier, but Johnny stopped them by saying, "You two are probably exhausted. I know I am. Why don't the two of you stay at the Baxter building tonight? You know that the Four won't press you for details until tomorrow morning at least if you act tired. Sue'll fuss over you, of course, but it won't be for long. She'll probably even make us dinner. We can do a sleepover in my room. Spid- er, Peter and I will grab some sleeping bags and camp out on the floor and Wally'll take the bed. Don't even try to tell me no. You're hurt – don't deny it – and so you'll get the bed. Besides, Sue would kill me if she found out I didn't give you the bed." He was rewarded with a small smile from Wally who, after a moment, nodded his head, obviously convinced by the idea of a warm meal and a nice bed and few questions. Peter glance between the two of them before smiling widely and agreeing. The two started putting their masks/cowls on and Johnny frowned, "Aren't you planning on telling the Fantastic Four when you tell the Avengers anyways? Why bother covering your face tonight?"

"We don't want to deal with the questions today. It's better to just tell them all at once and not entice them with our appearances. They'll want to ask and it'll just make them uncomfortable not asking. Especially with Wally's eyes." Peter answered sensibly. Johnny nodded in agreeance and then the three of them were making their way back to the Baxter building with plans to meet up on the roof. As Peter swung through the city on his webs and Johnny flew through propelled by his flames, they noticed that the onlookers made up of New Yorkers cheered and celebrated as Kid Flash zipped past them, occasionally waving and doing a small trick of some sort. Johnny smiled as he saw KF zoom over to a flower stall and buying a lily, handing it to someone who was obviously expecting, kissing her hand. She broke into tears, unashamedly pulling the speedster into a hug and crying into his shoulder.

Peter and Johnny stopped and lowered themselves nearby. They heard the woman sobbing, "We're so glad you're back Kid Flash! We were so worried when you disappeared. You'd never been gone for so long! And no one could tell us where you were. I don't even care where you were, all I care about is that you're safe. I'm so, so glad that you're back. It makes me feel safer bringing my little girl into the world and it makes me feel like a light came back on in the world, a light that had disappeared when you disappeared. We love you Kid Flash! Remember that; remember that New York loves you and we always want you to be safe and happy. Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you." She broke into tears again and the expression on Wally's face was priceless. It was like someone had just turned his entire world upside down. More bystanders started cheering, clapping and crying as they saw their hero again. When the crowd caught sight of Human Torch and Spiderman, the cheering intensified. Apparently the three of them had become something of a staple item in New York, the trio more encouraging than anything else because they all worked in different areas and yet they worked together, obviously friends, to save the city. The three teens smiled and laughed and talked with the crowd for a little bit before extracting themselves before the media crowd showed up.

Finally reaching the roof of Johnny's home, Spiderman turned towards the direction they'd come from, commenting quietly, "That's why we become heroes. Even though there are tons of people out there who are determined to hurt us and take us down and stop us from helping people, there are always people out there like that. People who will weep for us and miss us and worry if we're getting home at a reasonable hour and eating enough."

Wally, equally quiet, said somberly, "I wonder if people cried when Falcon disappeared back in my dimension. I wonder if the people I saved miss me." They all went silent, considering both comments.

After a few moments, Johnny murmured, "Let's go inside."

SSSSSS

Sue had been worried when Johnny had all but run out the door. On the one hand, it was the most animated he'd seemed since he found out Kid Flash went missing. On the other hand, she didn't want to see the expression on his face when he came home and Kid Flash was still missing.

So, understandably, she was beyond shocked when Johnny came down from the roof with Spiderman and Kid Flash trailing behind him. She saw Reed's mouth pop open, obviously gaping at the Terrible Trio. Ben had stood suddenly, spluttering as he stared at the scene in front of him. Sue wasn't in much better shape. Kid Flash smiled sheepishly and waved, "Hi."

Oh no, that was not an acceptable comment. Marching towards the trio of teen heroes, Sue grabbed Kid Flash's ear/lightning bolt/comms thing and dragged him over to the couch, ignoring his protesting comments. She lightly pushed him down and put the back of her hand on his forehead, moving it to his cheeks after a second. She frowned deeply, "You're freezing!" It didn't take long for her to bustle to the other side of the couch and grab the blanket before settling it over Kid Flash's shoulder, tucking him in gently. She started questioning him, "Are you hurt? Where are you hurt? How bad is it? Where were you? I was worried sick young man! You – you are grounded! Do you get that? You're grounded! No hero activities for at least a week depending on how bad your injuries are. Is that understood? Now where are you hurting? I'm going to make you some supper. I'll get some pasta and some pizza and mash potatoes – I know you love those. I'll make some omelets too. We'll have a great little modge podge, okay?"

He was obviously giving her a bemused look, his lips quirked slightly to convey his expression because the rest of his face was covered with that cowl and his eyes were hidden beneath those thick, opaque goggles that people always wondered how he saw through. Grabbing a thermometer and handing it Reed, Sue moved to the kitchen, calling up a few local restaurants and calling them to deliver dinner fit for the Fantastic Four, Spiderman, and Kid Flash. Which was a lot. Johnny was always amused by the slightly horrified expressions of the people who delivered the food when they saw the accumulated stacks of food and considered the significantly large amount of food they themselves were bringing in. When she came back into the living room, Spiderman was perched on the wall directly above Kid Flash, snickering as the speedster tried to avoid getting his temperature taken. Reed was doing his best to coax the teen into the process, but he never was the best at social interactions. Ben looked like he wanted to do it himself but knew that he'd never be able to grab the thermometer correctly. Johnny was sitting on the arm of the couch Kid Flash was laid out on, laughing while trying to help Reed. Sue leaned against the doorway and watched them for a second, amused at the domestic scene they were portraying. She wished the citizens of New York, of the world, could see them like this. It would help to put a stop to all those nasty things that were said about Spiderman and Kid Flash. There weren't so many things published against them anymore (they were too sweet to hate for long), but they'd never be loved by everyone. It would also help to lower the expectations of the civilians. They seemed to believe that just because people had powers or training that gave them that extra edge in a battle that they were invincible, that they weren't real people. They expected so much more of heroes than they should because, quite frankly, heroes were people too and they'd probably gone through so much more than any person should have to and they were still out there saving people. Sure, they made mistakes here and there, but that was human nature. The second one decides to go out there and take out the bad guys, it was like they were simply weapons that were great during the battle, but afterwards they were bringers of destruction and they were dangerous and terrifying – until the next battle came and they were needed again.

It wore on Sue's nerves, breaking him down little by little as the people she fought to protect turned around and insulted her the second they weren't in immediate danger. She knew it was worse for Spiderman and Kid Flash, though. They were still teen, still children, and people gave them so much more garbage for not telling them their secret identities like suddenly it made them more dangerous and more of a menace. She remembered one time when she and Ben were sitting on the couch watching the news. It had changed to a fight with Kid Flash and Spiderman on one side and the Rhino and Green Goblin on the other. They had been fighting it out, the good guys getting the upper hand, before a group in the crowd started throwing trash and rocks at Spiderman and Kid Flash, jeering at them and calling out insults. As they kept going, more and more people joined in (gotta love mob mentality) and Kid Flash and Spiderman had gotten distracted. They were trying to dodge the flying debris and ignore the insults while fighting two villains and it wasn't working. Sue and Ben had watched on in horror as Rhino got in a good hit, sending Spiderman flying at the same time that Kid Flash was hit with one of Green Goblin's pumpkins. They'd managed to make it through the battle, taking down the villains and leaving them for the police to arrest, but Sue had seen them limping away in the corner of the screen. It had broken her heart. Why did people have to be like that? Why did they have to take it out on the people who were just trying to protect them?

Sue watched on as Spiderman finally got exasperated and webbed Kid Flash to the couch, allowing Reed to finally take his temperature, Johnny laughing uproariously off to the side, Ben not much better. She allowed a huge smile to creep across her face. The civilians would definitely think twice about talking smack about them if they saw this. They were humans too.

CCCCCC

Clint was furious. He wasn't sure who he was more mad at, Wally for running off before he was healed, Spiderman for jumping out of a jet with an injured speedster holding onto him, or Daredevil for instigating the whole thing. When questioned about it, the vigilante of Hell's Kitchen had answered calmly, "He wanted to run." He then promptly started ignoring them. Clint also wasn't sure what was going on with Loki's distress over Wally's disappearance either. The idea that Loki was anywhere near the kid made his skin crawl and the temptation to stab someone (most likely Loki) in the eye with an arrow almost irresistible. He wasn't a huge fan of the god and wasn't sure he ever would be. Someone taking over your mind isn't exactly the easiest person to get along with. Scowling in the direction of Loki's cell, Clint ground his teeth. Neither Wally nor Spiderman had come back yet and it was the next morning. The two of them shouldn't have left in the first place, but if they did leave, they shouldn't have left for so long. Then the Fantastic Four had turned off their web cam so the Avengers couldn't even tell them that they'd found Wally and that they'd like the Four's help finding him again.

Suddenly, as if summoned by his thoughts, Wally and Spiderman appeared in the room, skidding to a stop in front of them, completely disregarding the gob-smacked expressions of the people in the room with them. At almost the same time, the web cam flared to life, indicating that the Fantastic Four were calling and requesting a conference. Natasha clicked the accept button, doing a pretty good job at hiding the shock she had to have gotten from the speedster and spider's sudden appearances. Then the Thing cursed from the camera, muttering, "Dang it, he got there first. I told you we shouldn't have bet against him."

Mr. Fantastic's irritated voice defended, "How was I supposed to know that he'd get there first? I didn't even know where the helicarrier was! Besides, he must have gotten a speed boost since the last time I recorded his speed from videos of him running on the internet."

Wally frowned, "That's kind of weird." Spiderman snorted beside them.

Steve's incredulous voice inquired, "What's going on here? Where were you Kid Flash?"

Rubbing the back of his neck with one hand sheepishly, Wally answered meekly, "I was feeling boxed in, claustrophobic even and I needed to run. That's really the one thing that really makes me feel better. So I ran around the world for a while before stopping. Spiderman and I talking some things out before we figured that we'd talk to Human Torch next. I wanted to tell him first because he's my friend and I've been keeping everything from him for too long. And then we spent the night at the Baxter building because I wasn't ready to come back to this. I wasn't ready to be interrogated."

"You were afraid." Bruce realized. Wally nodded his head and Clint felt some of his anger melt away. Had Wally really been so afraid of them and their reactions that he'd felt the need to run away? Were they that bad?

Fury took control of the situation there, "The Avengers convinced me to have this… conversation here instead of in an interrogation room with you chained to a chair. I expect you'll return the favor by being completely truthful."

Wally's voice was lined with mirth when he commented, "I don't think you would have wanted me in an interrogation cell again anyways. It didn't really end up well for Agent Hill last time, did it?"

"What?" Tony questioned, glancing around the table to see if anyone else knew. Clint had no idea what they were talking about, but Hill was blushing and self consciously rubbing her forehead. That just made Clint wonder even more about what happened.

Apparently he wasn't meant to find out because Steve was talking again, designated spokesperson because of his leadership status, "We're going to ask you questions and we want you to answer honestly. This is just so we know what we're dealing with." Wally nodded and went to go sit in a chair next to Daredevil, accepting a brief touch on the arm in way of comfort as he went. Spiderman sat on his other side and the Fantastic Four observed from a camera set across from the speedster. Steve continued, "How did Vandal Savage end up going to a different dimension if he doesn't know how dimensional travel works?"

Clint caught the small wince Wally gave before he started speaking, his voice strong and steady as he said, "He didn't. I traveled across dimensions. I'm originally from the dimension he's in." There was complete silence as everyone at the table tried to understand what the kid had just said. Clint felt his thoughts spinning out of control and wasn't sure how to respond.

Daredevil was the first to speak, his voice cracking before he tried again, "H-how? If you don't know how it works, how did you get here?" Clint started. He would have thought that if anyone would have known about this it would have been Kid's partner, but apparently not. The archer noticed that the only people who didn't seem like they were reeling (even Natasha couldn't hide her shock this time) were the Human Torch and Spiderman. Evidently they knew beforehand.

Wally took a deep breath before launching into an explanation, "This might take a little bit. There was an alien species that landed on Earth and prepared to take it over. They were called the Reach. They worked with an Earth organization called the Light which was headed by Vandal Savage. The two worked together to try to take over the world, but a team, the Young Justice Team, a group of kid heroes, defeated them. The problem was that the Reach had planted magnetic field disruptors, MFDs, all around the world. Our scanners picked up twenty MFDs. There were currently forty heroes on-world and able to take out the MFDs, so they went two to a machine. One of the members of the Light, Lex Luthor, came forward with a device to stop the MFDs because, well, this was his planet too. So we went around and destroyed all of them, but the magnetic field was still disrupted. Our scanners picked up one more. Flash and Impulse, two more speedsters, said that they would go and find it and destroy it, but once they got there it had already gone crystallis – which meant that it couldn't be destroyed. That one MFD could destroy the entire world. Lex Luthor recommended that the two of them started running opposite the MFD to unravel it like I do with tornadoes. The two of them weren't generating enough kinetic energy for it though. So I ran to Antarctica to help them. I was significantly slower than both of them, so the MFD used me as an outlet. It kept hitting me and hitting me and none of us could slow down because we still needed to get the thing to stop. I could feel myself disappearing, ceasing to exist. I told the Flash to tell everyone that I loved them and then I disappeared. The next thing I knew I was in the middle of New York and there was an alien of some sort flying at me. It was the Battle of New York when the Chitauri invaded."

Tony breathed out, "That's when you saved me. You caught me as I was falling out of the portal." Wally just nodded. Clint was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Wally came from a different dimension.

Bruce mused, "When you called that number when we had you locked in the kitchen. It didn't work because you were calling someone from a different dimension."

There was a sad smile on Wally's face when he answered, "I didn't know that at the time. I was a little bit freaking out. All I knew was that my enhanced senses had enhanced even further and my speed had gotten a major boost and suddenly I was fourteen years old."

"Suddenly you were fourteen years old?" Natasha questioned sharply.

Wally nodded and said, "When I left my dimension I was just recently turned eighteen."

Invisible Woman broke in with, "I'm still trying to understand how the world survived with three speedsters."

Obviously relieved that someone was choosing to react with humor, Wally responded lightly, "Actually, there were more than three. There was the original Flash who then passed down the mantle to the Flash I told you about and then there was me and Impulse. Then there were Jesse and Johnny Quick and Max Mercury. Then there were the villains who were also speedsters: Reverse Flash and Zoom. So that's… at least nine speedsters. Plus there's superman who can fly almost as fast as we can run, but he's not quite as fast. Flash raced him one time and won. It was great." Any confusion, hurt, worry, anger, or any other emotion that decided to sneak up on him dissipated as Clint listened to Wally speak. He sounded so passionate, so happy when he spoke about his home dimension and Clint figured that he'd leave all the thinking until later, taking this time to listen to Wally be completely happy with most, if not all, of his barriers down.

Invisible Woman laughed slightly, others joining in as they all undoubtedly pictured nine speedsters running around with a man who could fly almost as fast. Fury's voice broke the mood almost instantly, "So all the information we have on you, your parents, your ancestors, is fake?"

Wally winced again and answered honestly, "Yeah. I hacked myself into existence on an incredibly helpful Braille computer. My name is actually Wally West-Wayne, not Wally Wayne or Wally Murdock or whatever I currently have it as. I mean, I used names from my past. The name of the person I used as my father is the person who adopted me and the name of his 'wife' is his on and off girlfriend. I think. They have a weird relationship him being a hero and her being a villain. It's just… weird. And them 'dying by mugging' was how my adopted father's parents died, so I figured I'd just use that."

Thor's voice was sad as he spoke for the first time, "Where are your birth parents?"

Voice tense, Wally spoke slowly (for him), "When I was seven I got my speed. My biological parents were convinced that I was a monster because of that. They already thought I was worthless enough to beat me practically every day, but evidently that was the last straw. So my father carved the Flash symbol into my chest and then decided to stab my eyes out so I couldn't run. He thought he was doing the world a favor. Apparently a neighbor heard my screams and called the police. My parents were arrested and put in jail. My father ended up escaping and going through a program to get superpowers so he could finish the job and kill me, but he failed and I captured him. He died on his way to prison. My mother, who got out legally, was sent back to prison again." Wally had pulled his goggles and cowl off as he made the comment explain how he lost his eyesight and Clint heard the Fantastic Four gasp at the sight of his eyes. It was awful. It was also heartbreaking how brutally honest Wally was being. It obviously hurt him to talk about this, but he kept going, determined to tell the truth.

"I'm so sorry." Steve croaked, eyes sad as he gazed at Wally with a new light. Clint couldn't blame him. The kid was way too happy for having gone through all of that.

Natasha's voice was cool and clinical, but Clint could read the fury in the words, "Is that where the rest of your scars came from as well?"

"Most of them, yeah. As a speedster, I have not only faster healing, but better healing. I'm way less likely to scar, so most of my injuries from seven onward didn't scar. There was a couple, but not a lot. The most notable is the 'J', but then there's just a couple burns and then a knife or laser wound here or there." Wally answered easily.

Human Torch snorted in the background, "You're probably the only person who can say 'a knife or laser wound here or there' with a completely straight face." Wally grinned at him.

Daredevil's voice was tight with unconcealed fury, his voice dipping into levels that had made hardened criminals cry, "You want to explain that 'J' carved into your chest?"

"Not really." Wally tried. The unamused noise Daredevil made caused Wally's shoulders to slump as he began his story, "I was one of the sidekicks to a hero called Batman. We were in a city called Gotham and that city makes Hell's Kitchen look like heaven. It's a pretty awful place to be. Anyways, I was Batman's latest sidekick, he'd had a lot over the years, and myself and Robin, another sidekick, were supposed to be going after Joker's goons. Joker is a terrifying villain. He apparently looks like a clown and he's by far the most psychopathic villain I've come across. He doesn't have any powers and yet he's more terrifying than most of the villains with powers. Batman and all of his sidekicks beside me don't have powers either. Anyways, I was going after some goons, but it had been a trap to get me. I don't know why, but the Joker took me. He kept me for a week, beating me and messing with my head. He carved the 'J' on my chest and told me that I belonged to him. The Bat clan – basically Batman and all of his sidekicks – found me though and saved me. I had to stop being Batman's sidekick after that though because Joker said that if I stayed in Gotham he'd never stop trying to capture me and Arkham Asylum wasn't going to be able to keep him prisoner since it hadn't managed it in all those years. So I went to Central and became the Flash's sidekick."

Tony's expression was curious as he asked, "Why didn't Batman just kill Joker? That way he wouldn't have to worry about Joker bothering him ever again."

"We don't kill." Wally's voice was hard and flat as he answered, "No one in the Justice League, which is a bunch of adult heroes who work together to keep the world safe, kills if they can help it. If we start killing we'll be no better than the people we fight. There are vigilantes that kill, of course. Red Hood, a former sidekick to Batman, kills now, but he's got a whole story behind that and I think everyone's just glad that he's still fighting crime and not participating in it. Other heroes have killed. Some stopped after certain events in their lives. My own girlfriend was raised by an assassin to become an assassin. She never said whether it was true or not, but I'm pretty sure she's killed before for her training."

Clint's voice was amused as he finally joined the conversation, "You actually have a girlfriend?"

Wally scowled at him, "Of course I do. And she's wonderful. She's actually an archer like you. I bet she could beat you in an archery contest. She's amazing. She was, like I said, raised by an assassin for a dad and then her mom was another villain. Her sister grew up to become an assassin too, but she decided to become a hero. We hated each other when we first met, but then we fell in love." There was a goofy grin on the kid's face and Clint couldn't help but smile softly in return.

Steve's voice was sad with remembrance as he asked quietly, "That ring that Loki said didn't have any magic in it? You were eighteen and you obviously love your girlfriend…" Steve trailed off and let the idea simmer for a few seconds. Everyone turned towards Wally, expressions sad, hoping he would refute the idea.

Instead, Wally nodded and said quietly, "I was going to ask her to marry me. I was sure she was going to say yes. I spent forever picking out the ring, Robin helping me because I couldn't see the colors of course. There was an extra at our house because, well, because I'm rich and can afford to buy doubles of my engagement rings, so I have to assume that she's found it and knows that I was planning on asking her."

A solemn silence settled over the room as everyone thought of loved ones. Fury broke the moment by asking, "How did you get your powers? The speed and the enhanced senses?"

"I'm not telling you that." Wally's tone brokered no argument.

That didn't stop Fury who pressed, "Why not?"

"Because I know organizations like SHIELD and I know that you're going to try to recreate the experiment. It won't work. First of all, I don't know all the specifics, all the little details that might mean the difference between death and superpowers. Second of all, I have a gene that's being called the metagene that was activated when the particular thing that gave me powers occurred. As far as I can tell, you guys don't have a metagene. You guys have some mutant gene or something like that. Third of all, I would never curse someone with super speed." Wally responded.

Bruce's voice was confused as he asked, "Curse?"

"Speedsters… it's almost like I'm living on a different world than everyone else. I'm going so much faster, processing so much faster, being so much faster than everyone else and no one can really relate. It's hard to connect with someone when they move so slow. It's like the whole world slows down and suddenly you can't interact with the rest of the world. It's… lonely. Plus there are the downsides of the way increased appetite and the down sides of speed healing. Things like bones healing before you can set them, making it so you have to rebreak it. Plus there's a sudden sense of claustrophobia. I guess it has something to do with the fact that we can run around the world in minutes and that makes it hard to stay in a small room with little space for movement." Wally shrugged. Clint looked on sadly. He really did not understand how the kid seemed so happy and cheerful and trusting after all he's been through. How was that even possible?

Fury seemed to reluctantly accept Kid Flash's answer. Steve asked the next question, "Loki mentioned someone named Klarion who was working with Savage. Who is that?"

Clint had the impression that if Wally could roll his eyes he would have been doing so. His voice was irritated when he responded, "Klarion the Witch Boy and his familiar Teekl. Teekl is a small cat that can turn into a huge cat. Klarion's got magic; he's a Lord of Chaos. Both are highly annoying. He's a member of the Light probably just because he was bored and felt like it. That seems like something he would do. The only significant interaction I've had with him was when he tried to steal the Helmet of Fate. Basically there's this superhero called Doctor Fate; he's a Lord of Order. It's actually a guy named Nabu who lives in the helmet and can't use his powers unless the helmet is on someone. He had an official host, a guy named Kent Nelson, but Klarion killed Nelson and I had to put on the helmet. Nabu used my body to fight Klarion and Klarion ended up running. Nabu almost didn't give my body back, actually." Well, that was certainly an interesting story. Correction: that was certainly a weird story. Wally's certainly had an interesting life.

"Seriously?" Tony asked, his eyes wide as he tried to imagine a battle between two magical people. For someone who had a hard time accepting magic, it must be hurting his brain. Not that Clint necessarily believed in magic either. It was more like he just chose not to think about it.

Fury took over again, "Spiderman told us that Vandal Savage had a grudge against you. How serious is that grudge?"

"Since he's still tormenting me from a different dimension, I'm pretty sure it's a pretty deep grudge." Wally answered sardonically, a tint of bitterness tainting his words.

Mr. Fantastic's voice was curious as he asked, "What did you do that made him hate you so much?"

"I mean, I didn't do anything in particular. He was a villain of Batman's. I mean, he was a villain for a lot of heroes, but he antagonized Batman and, consequentially his sidekicks a lot, so there's that. Then there's the fact that he was trying to help Count Vertigo kill Queen Perdita, she's the queen of Vlatava which is a country that you guys do not have, and I managed to save Queen Perdita, so he wasn't very happy about that." Wally said.

He was interrupted by Spiderman laughing from beside him, "What Kid's not telling you is that Queen Perdita knighted him afterwards. He actually has his own parcel of land and a seat on the council of Vlatava as a noble. He's got his own seal and everything."

"Dude!" Wally hissed and a few people laughed at Wally's expense. Clint was personally pretty impressed although he'd never admit it. He wouldn't mind getting knighted. That'd be awesome.

Bruce asked a question before anyone else could get the chance to throw their own in, "Spiderman said you went by the names Swift and Falcon before you were Kid Flash. Why did you switch names so much?"

Wally winced again, but still answered, "I was Swift originally because the Bat Clan kind of had a theme; you either named yourself after a bat or after a bird, so I went with one of the fastest birds ever – the Swift. Then, well, the Bat Clan managed to end up mind controlled. After I battled my biological father with his new superpowers, the Bat Clan showed up and fought me. Normally I had a hard time fighting them one on one, never mind against all of them at once. I managed to take down most of them. It was a mixture of luck, adrenaline, and their attacks being not as coordinated as usual due to the mind control. Either way, after the first battle and then the battle with them, I was beat. Batman was the last one standing and I went to fight him, but I couldn't. At the end I was just laying on the ground, trying my hardest to breathe, as he was going in to kill me. Luckily the Flash got there first and saved me otherwise I wouldn't have survived that experience. Anyways, I got some advice from someone who soon became a friend and she recommended that I cut off anything that reminded me of them because quite frankly the thought of the Bat Clan made me panic after the attack. So I chose a different name and got a different costume so I could shed anything tying me to them. I went by Falcon instead. And I had to change my outfit once I got here because I didn't want to connect me with the person who saved Iron Man because SHIELD wanted the person who saved Iron Man. So I got a new outfit and a new name." Wally shrugged, obviously trying to make them think that none of that bothered him, but Clint could read between the lines. He could tell that the young hero was still broken up inside about the 'Bat Clan' attacking him.

He wasn't sure what made it so upsetting, but he decided to input some humor to lift the mood a little bit, "I'm not sure I'd want to be connected to a man who calls himself a bat and beats thugs up anyways. You were probably better off changing names."

As he had hoped, Wally snorted, some of his melancholy melting off, "People only make fun of him for that once. And then they know better than to do it ever again. I mean, he had a legitimate reason to call himself Batman and dress up like a bat, but still."

"What possible reason could you have for that?" Tony asked incredulously.

Wally just laughed and said, "Not my story to tell."

"Anymore questions?" Spiderman prompted.

There was silence for a few seconds before Bruce asked softly, "The second you find a way to get back to your dimension, you're taking it, aren't you? And we won't see you again."

Clint felt as if his heart had frozen in his chest. He hadn't thought of that. Wally's mouth pulled down into a frown, but Johnny spoke first, voice desperate and his expression matching, "If you can go from this dimension to the other one, then you can come back to this one whenever. You don't have to pick one or the other. We can, like, switch off months or something like that. You can't completely leave this dimension. Think about that woman from earlier. You heard how happy she was that you had come back! You heard all those people clapping and cheering for you!" Clint tilted his head, wondering what Human Torch was talking about. Apparently whatever it was had impacted Wally quite a bit because his face crumpled a little bit, sadness lining his face and making it seem older.

His voice was just as sad, just as desperate as he responded, "I don't know how it works. I might not be able to come back. The fact that we can communicate with the other dimension gives me hope that I might be able to switch between them, but keep in mind that if I can go back and forth, so can villains. And you guys don't want any of our villains and we don't want any your villains. And who knows how much energy is required to travel between the dimensions? We might not be able to regularly generate that much energy."

Clint glanced back at Johnny as was struck with the likeness of a kicked puppy. The Human Torch's eyes were big and sad, his expression carefully controlled, but still cracking into one of grief. Clint looked around the table and saw similar expressions. Everyone here loved Wally (with the possible exception of Fury) and the idea that he might never come back… that was… that was unbelievable. How would they get on without him? The crime-fighting world had almost fallen apart missing him when he was gone for a week. If he was gone forever…

Fury spoke up, breaking the moment again, "I'm going to have to talk this over with the Council. Like you said, if you can come through than others can as well. There's a chance you won't be allowed to leave. And, of course, we would ask you to stay with the Avengers so we could keep you better protected in case Savage manages to find a way to send someone after you."

Wally's voice was cold with barely repressed rage as he asked, "You mean you want me to stay with the Avengers so you can keep an eye on me and make sure I don't go Rogue or something?" Fury dipped his head, conceding the point. He wasn't even going to bother denying it. Wally spoke again, "I hate to say it this way, but if I want to leave this dimension, I will. You can't stop me."

"Can't I?" Fury asked. Clint could hear the honest curiosity and the barely concealed calculating tone his words held.

"No, you can't." Wally replied, continuing, "If I were to fight you with no inhibitions, no worry about hurting or, god forbid, killing you, you would not be able to stop me. You don't have any measures in place to defeat me and you don't know how my powers work or what all I can do with my abilities. I will go back to my dimension and you will not try to stop me. Are we understood?"

Fury simply responded with a noncommittal sound, causing Wally to tilt his head marginally before seemingly shrugging. Tony spluttered, "How do you do that? You just tell Fury no like it's something easy to do. He's a terrifying tyrant pirate! How can you talk to him like that?" Clint had to hold in a laugh at the expression on Fury's face after he heard what Tony called him.

Wally just grinned, answering, "He's less scary than Daredevil when he's in a bad mood and Daredevil isn't anywhere near as terrifying as Batman in a bad mood, so I'm used to dealing with brooding terrors. Fury's got nothing on the people I've annoyed." Clint had the impression that if he could see Daredevil's eyes he'd been seeing the man rolling his eyes.

Steve spoke next, "Fury's idea actually isn't that bad." He hurried to correct himself when Wally's face whipped in his direction, "Not the not letting you back to your dimension thing. I meant that you should probably stay at the Avengers Towers. You could work with Dr. Banner and Stark more easily on your dimensional hole thing so you can get home sooner. And there always is a chance that Savage will find a way to send someone else after you and he knows the identity you're assuming so it'll be even easier to find you that time. If you stay we can protect you better and you'll get home faster. You can still go on patrols, but it would be preferable if you had an Avenger with you at all times, even on patrols."

The expression Wally was directing at Steve could have curdled milk. Wally's voice was flat when he said, "So you want me to have a guard go with me wherever I go. I'll be under house arrest basically. It's the same thing as Fury said. You just want to observe my fight patterns and figure out what other tricks I have up my sleeve. Besides, I've been living with you guys for two weeks now. I just want to go back to living with someone I actually know."

Tony's voice was slightly hopeful as he said, "Matt can stay in the Tower too. I'm rich, it's no big deal."

Daredevil answered that time, "Matt would never agree to that. Trust me." Clint noticed the quirk of lips that both Spiderman and Kid Flash gave, but couldn't figure out why they thought that was humorous.

Invisible Woman spoke up next, "You can stay in the Baxter building then. We're still heroes and we've got the science equipment to research it just as well. You know us and you know Johnny even better."

Fury spoke again, "There are six Avengers and four of you. I think he would be safer with the Avengers."

Stark added, "Plus I'm pretty sure I have more science labs and engineering labs and any type of labs than you do, so…" He gave them a self-satisfied smirk and Clint noticed Sue and Reed bristle at him. It wasn't long before a fight ensued.

Spiderman yelled over the noise to be heard, "Hey! I've got an idea!" Everyone stopped and turned to look at him, curious. Spiderman glanced to the side and received an encouraging nod from Wally before continuing, "How about Wally stays with the Avengers, but I stay too? Then there's a friendly face and more protection. I can't see any bad sides to that." Wally conceding the point with a tilt of his head. Johnny agreed verbally. Daredevil pursed his lips before nodding as well.

Steve, however, was frowning, "We don't know who you are and it can't be that comfortable wearing that suit for however long he'll be stuck there."

Spiderman said, "What if I told you who I was?"

Most of the people in the room sucked in a breath, obviously shocked by that comment. Clint was personally mind blown. Spiderman had done everything he could to make sure that they never found out who he was. And here he was willing to give that up to make Wally feel more comfortable. Steve answered for them, "It's a deal."

Taking a huge breath of air, Spiderman pulled his mask off, revealing a much younger face than what was expected. Clint saw fluffy brown hair and big brown eyes. It didn't take him long to connect the dots. This was Peter Parker, the intern Tony had recently hired for Stark Industries. Apparently Stark made the connection to because he gasped out, "Peter? Peter Parker?"

"Hey Tony." He gave an awkward little hand wave thing that was one hundred percent Peter and Clint couldn't help giving out a bark of laughter. What was it with kid heroes hiding right under their noses?

Steve's voice was disapproving as he said, "You're almost as young as Wally. You shouldn't be out fighting crime."

Peter frowned at him, his voice passionate with his belief, "With great power comes great responsibility. I was given these abilities, this thing that no one else can do, so I have to use it to help. If I don't, then every robbery, every mugging, every crime is my fault. I wouldn't have been there to help because I chose to not help. That's not right."

Steve frowned, but didn't offer any further commentary. Natasha clarified, "So, Peter and Wally will both be coming to live with us in the Avengers Tower. They are both to stay there unless going on patrols where they will be accompanied by at least one Avenger."

Wally amended the statement with a small frown, "I'm going to school; I've missed enough as it is. I'll be fine there without SHIELD agents or Avengers following me around. Peter goes to my school too so if I need backup I've got him. And I will absolutely not have an Avenger following me around on patrol. Daredevil and I can handle it just fine. If we can't we can call in the Fantastic Four with the comms device they gave me. If it makes you feel any better, you guys can give me a comms device as well and I'll call you when I need to. Otherwise, that sounds about right."

The Avengers reluctantly nodded along with what Wally said and everyone kind of leaned back in their chairs, exhausted. Someone shut off the feed to the Baxter building and Daredevil, Spiderman, and Stark were figuring out what to tell Peter's Aunt May about where he was going to be for a while. Apparently she didn't know about his night-time activities. Steve, Fury, and Hill were discussing something that seemed important but Clint didn't really care at the moment. Thor and Wally were talking, Thor apparently apologizing for his brother's actions and Wally trying to wave it off. Clint smiled on the scene as Natasha called out, "Let's go home then." This was certainly going to be interesting.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone considers stuff.

NNNNNN

Director Nick Fury considered the enigma that was Wally West-Wayne as the speedster in question finalized his living arrangement with the Avengers. Everything they knew about him was fake. Everything he told them about himself had the possibility of being fake. Then there was the matter of him refusing to explain how he got his powers. What did he mean by the little details? And what was this metagene? Was it really so different from the mutant gene? There was a high possibility that the two genes were related. If that was the case, then there was a lot of research they could do on mutants using information from Wally's genetic code. But looking around at the sea of heroes surrounding the speedster, Fury ignored his conclusion. Wally was too well-protected, too well-loved. Even Loki had developed a soft spot for him, apparently. Fury narrowed his eye in contemplation. They could use Loki's affection for the teen to their advantage. A few words here, a subtle threat there and Loki would be putty in his hands.

Talking to the Council was going to require some fancy word mincing as well. He tried to be as brutally honest and polite as possible during those meetings, but then they started talking and arguing and all former decisions about political etiquette tended to go out the door. He was afraid that if he didn't use the right words, they'd see Kid Flash as a threat and he would have to be neutralized. The problem was, Fury wasn't so sure they could neutralize him. The kid had a point when he said that they knew nothing about the extent of his abilities or even the way it worked. They knew that he used the Speedforce and they knew he could create tornadoes, propel himself with manmade tornadoes, unravel tornadoes, heal incredibly fast, had enhanced senses, could phase through things, and could run really fast. That was it. The only thing weakness that Fury could pick up on was his enhanced metabolism, but how does one exploit that? There was a chance that they could get to him with words, but Fury had a feeling that if they did do damage with words there was a large chance that Wally wouldn't let them see it. He would hide it behind smiles and bad puns and loud laughter. It had worked well enough to hide his identity for two weeks while living with the Avengers and to hide his identity for months from SHIELD. He'd even ended up working at a SHIELD facility and Fury knew that they were incredibly thorough in their background searches there. Wally and his parents and his grandparents and his great-grandparents all would have been thoroughly researched. And that meant that he had to have hacked a comprehensive life into existence for all of those generations. That spoke of a level of intelligence far beyond those of normal humans.

Fury sighed and rested his elbows on the table, enveloping his face in his hand and scrubbing at it vigorously. This was a mess, a serious mess.

And all of that wasn't even the worst part. No, the worst part was… Wally was actually growing on him.

MMMMMM

Matt Murdock, known sometimes as Daredevil, wasn't sure if he wanted to strangle Wally, wrap him in some blankets, shun him, or have a heartfelt father-son moment and the conflicting emotions were causing him to be rather stiff with his surrogate son. They had moved to another room to talk while Stark and the others figured out what to tell Peter's aunt about the whole situation. He must have led them into the room with Wally's science papers because he went to a corner of the room and started shifting through things, grabbing them and putting them in order. Matt's voice was unfeeling as he stated, "So you'll be staying with the Avengers." He couldn't make a comment about not staying with him because SHIELD didn't know he was Matt Murdock and there was almost guaranteed to be a camera in there.

He heard Wally sigh, the papers stopping their shuffling and dropping slightly to rest against the counter top. Wally let out another bone-weary sigh before saying, "Yeah, I'm staying with the Avengers. I'll see you every night for patrols." So. He was going to be just as formal and awkward then. This really wasn't going to help anyone.

Matt said, "Yeah."

Silence stretched out for a long moment before Wally manned up first and asked, "This is about me being from a different dimension, isn't it?"

"No," Matt answered sharply, "This has nothing to do with that. I don't care about any of that. I care about the fact that you lied to me. I care about the fact that I found out that you came from another dimension at the same time as the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. You've known the Avengers for three weeks now and you've been in captivity for one of them! You barely know the Fantastic Four! They didn't even know your real name!" He spoke with passion, but his voice was still low. He was trying desperately to keep his calm. He had yelled at Wally one time, but he hadn't been prepared for the reaction. The kid had whimpered and flinched back from the lawyer. Now that he knew a little bit more about the speedster's past, that reaction made a lot more sense, but he didn't want fear coming into the conversation and making it impossible.

"I only told two people before I told you. Two people, Daredevil. It wasn't like you were the last to know or something." Wally shot back.

Matt felt his temper flare, "I was the last to know. Myself, along with the Avengers and the Fantastic Four and SHIELD were the last to know. You told Spiderman and Human Torch before you told us. You told me at the same time that you told SHIELD. I can't help but feel like you're putting me on the same level as them."

Matt could hear the desperation, the sadness, the self-loathing, the anger, the fear, the pure frustration in Wally's voice when he spoke next, voice pitched low, "I didn't know who to trust! I didn't know how you would react! I come from another dimension! I didn't know a single person in this entire dimension. What was I supposed to do? I had no one to ask questions of, no one to share my troubles with. How was I supposed to know that you'd be fine with continuing to let me li-, uh, work with you out on the field if you knew everything about me?" Matt caught the almost slip-up that Wally made. He'd been about to say live with him. Wally thought that Matt would have kicked him out of the house if he knew about his past.

Frowning deeply, Matt growled, "You've known me since the first day you got to this dimension. Surely after a month, two, maybe six months of knowing me, you would have known that I wouldn't react like that."

He heard Wally start to pace, tapping his fingers against his thigh, taking deep, calming breaths. Matt and Wally hadn't fought often, but whenever they did, Wally did this little routine to keep himself calm and keep the conversation from getting too emotional. Wally said, "Fear isn't always rational. I knew, inside, that you would have accepted me. I think I figured it out around month four. But then, then there were more problems, more excuses to avoid telling you. I was still irrationally scared of your reaction. I was scared that you'd get mad at me for lying to you from day one. I've told you so, so many lies. I did my best to tell half-truths or just side-step questions so I wouldn't be directly lying, but… I still lied and I was afraid you wouldn't forgive me for that. And then, then there was the fact that someday I'd be going home and there's a chance that I won't come back. I was terrified that you would try to talk me out of going home. I was afraid that if I told you more about myself that we'd become even closer and it'd be even harder to leave. I was just so afraid."

Matt's voice was flat, merciless as he continued, "Then why did you tell Spiderman?" He wasn't unfeeling. What Wally had just said had broken his heart. Had Wally always been that terrified? Had there been times that Wally was about to tell him, but then stopped because of something Matt said or did?

Wally growled low in his throat and said, "I needed to tell someone! You remember when I ran around that tornado in the middle of nowhere and unraveled it? And then I came back to you and had a panic attack? That's when I realized that if I didn't tell someone, anyone, then I wouldn't be able to function. I'd drown under my lies. The only two people I trusted enough at the time were you and Spiderman. It'd only been, like, a month since I got here and I was terrified that you'd turn me out if I told you, but Spiderman couldn't turn me out. The worst thing he could do was shun me at school and it's not like that's anything new. Normally my only friends at school are my family. I could lose so much more if I told you. So I told Spiderman that I'd figured out his secret identity and then I told him mine and then I told him my story."

Daredevil set his jaw and tried to see the situation through Wally's eyes, but he was having a hard time. He knew that he was just proving Wally's point. He was doing exactly what the kid was afraid he was going to do: he was getting mad at him for telling lies from day one. Could he really be blamed though? This was a lot to take in, especially all at once. The person he'd considered a son, the person who'd lived with him, fought with him, cried with him, had been lying to him. He chose to withhold the truth so he'd continue to have a place to live. Matt knew that he was blowing this all out of proportions, but he couldn't help the furious anger that bubbled up inside him at that last thought. Was that all he was to Wally? Was he just a place to live in this new world? Is that why Wally had never told him? No. He had to believe in the speedster even if he was mad. Matt took a deep breath and said, "I think it would be better if you patrolled with someone else for a while." He needed some time separate to think this over and figure out what was going on. He added stiffly, "I'm leaving now. I'll find a way to contact you in case I need to."

He heard Wally take in a sharp breath before he answered, "Okay. I'll see you… whenever." Daredevil heard the small waver in his surrogate son's voice and, as he swept out of the room, he heard Wally break down. The walls were too thin for someone with enhanced hearing and Matt couldn't block out the sound of Wally sobbing. He heard him fall to the floor, scooting back so he was propped against the corner of the room. He probably had his arms around his knees, his sightless eyes leaking tears as he gasped in breaths and sobbed into his arms. Matt almost went back and pulled the teenaged speedster into his lap, shushing him and comforting him before he remembered that he was the one who caused his son to be in such a state and guilt tore at his soul, warring for space with the anger that was still swirling around his gut.

Matt marched into the conference room and said, "I'm leaving now." Fury nodded to him and directed one of the pilots to drop him off in Hell's Kitchen. He could still hear Wally's sobs ringing in his ears.

LLLLLL

Loki was shocked when Wally walked into chamber in front of his prison. He wasn't expecting any visitors, let alone the person he'd just kidnapped. He watched, head tilted, as Wally dragged a chair in front of the clear door to Loki's prison, stopping it directly in front of Loki. The redhead plopped into the chair and Loki had a strange, warm feeling unfurl in his chest when he saw Wally unfold Loki's cloak and settle it around himself, curling into it and the chair. He didn't dare delve into the origin of that feeling. The warm, unidentified feeling was turned to the more recognizable anger, though, when he saw Wally's red rimmed eyes. Someone had obviously made the child cry and that was unacceptable. Loki was this child's guardian and he was determined to make sure that this child's light continued to shine across the world. Whomever it was who made Wally cry was directly undermining Loki's attempts and they must be punished. The two sat there in silence for a long moment, Loki silently seething, before Wally announced quietly, "I'm scared." Loki's eyes widened. He hadn't expected the young speedster to come to him for advice. Why would Wally come to Loki for this conversation? Apparently Loki's confused, slightly floundering silence was taken as an incentive to go on because Wally kept talking, "Daredevil is mad at me for keeping everything a secret. Human Torch didn't seem that bothered by it – he seemed more relieved that I told him than anything else. Spiderman, well, when I told him months ago, I hadn't been lying to him for very long. I'm scared that the others are going to react like Daredevil did. I didn't want to lie to them. And then, when I get back to my dimension, I'm scared that everyone will have moved on. What if we don't all click like we used to? What if they… like it better without me?"

Loki sneered at the boy, "Is that really what you think? If they think that way then they surely aren't worth your time anyways."

Wally's head tilted towards Loki and he said, "Thor doesn't like it better without you. He talks about you a lot. He tries not to talk about you when Hawkeye and I are around because we don't have the best experiences with you, but I've got enhanced hearing so I could hear him talking about you. And he always says good things. If you hadn't killed my friends at that lab, then his words about you would have actually made me like you."

Loki ignored that little statement about Thor with grace that only comes from long practice, and forged on, "You sound tired." That was not what he'd meant to say. He was planning something snooty and insulting but still mildly helpful if it was looked at closely, but it didn't come out the way he wanted it to.

"I'm tired of lying. I'm tired of being here. I'm tired of missing my friends and family. I'm tired of worrying. I'm tired of constantly checking my back for super villains creeping up behind me. I am tired." The small redhead said, sighing deeply and snuggling further into Loki's cloak.

Loki observed the earth specimen as the speedster drifted off to sleep, head nodding slowly towards his shoulder. The god could tell that Wally already looked better, more like he did when Loki had originally acquired the prisoner. His flesh was more filled out, looking less like bone and more like muscle. Bruises and scratches and cuts and burns were all fading away or already gone and he was clean and presentable. It certainly made a difference. At the same time, he looked younger. He didn't have a fierce expression of determination and defiance decorating his face, making him seem so much older than he was. He didn't have a snappy comeback ready to be delivered with a smirk. The stress-lines in his face were smoothed out and his features weren't pinched in pain. Just like the last time Loki had seen him sleep, Wally finally looked his age. Loki wondered what Daredevil had said to Wally. He wondered what the others were going to say to Wally. He wondered if Wally would ever get home and if the people there would accept him. He wondered so Wally didn't have to. This was Wally's chance to sleep and relax.

Loki wasn't sure how Wally deemed his presence to be the most comfortable to sleep around, but he wasn't complaining. It gave him an opportunity to study the fascinating creature slumped in the chair in front of him. What had this child gone through in his life and how much more would he face before the world was finally done torturing him. For once, Loki pushed aside all thoughts of gain and himself and anger and focused on what would help heal the boy in front of him. He realized that he wouldn't be able to protect the boy, guard him, if he were to be stuck in this prison. He needed to get out, but he had to be let out. That way he could stay near Wally because apparently, somehow, his presence was helping the child. And Loki would not go back on his oath and let the child's light be extinguished by these foolish Midgardians who knew not how to treat an injured child. Taking a deep breath, Loki resolved to talk to Thor.

TTTTTT

Tony Stark was a little bit freaking out. He didn't know where Wally was. He and Spiderman – Peter – had been tasked with finding the little speedster and getting him back to the main room for them to all leave together and go back to the Tower where they'd all go back to living together with just the addition of Peter. Tony really wasn't sure if he should be reeling over the fact that Peter Parker was Spiderman or the fact that Wally is from a different dimension. The billionaire figured that he was in a giving mood today and he would just reel over both of those revelations. At the same time. That might not be the healthiest way to deal with things, but he was trying to stop with his denial approach which is apparently even unhealthier, but a lot more fun. Spiderman sighed from the room with Wally's research, "He's not in here, but his papers are organized so I'd say that he was at least in here. This was probably where Daredevil and Kid Flash went to talk."

"You know you can call Kid Flash Wally, right?" Tony asked as the two moved onto the next room.

Spiderman (Peter; Tony was being a little hypocritical there) shrugged and answered easily, "KF's got a little technique where whenever he's in his hero get-up he thinks about other heroes by their hero name and not their civilian name so he doesn't accidently say the wrong one. I find it to be helpful too. I wouldn't want to shout out Wally at Kid Flash and make it so the entire population can figure out who he is."

There was silence for a moment, Tony trying to ooze confidence but probably failing because he didn't feel very confident at all. He felt… hurt was the best word. He'd been crushed when he found out that the kid he'd opened his home to, the kid who'd been living with him for two weeks ended up being Kid Flash and lying to him. That crushed feeling had intensified once he realized that Wally had lied even more. He wasn't even from this universe! It had been lie after lie after lie. And then it turned out that Stark's going-on-seven-months-intern had been doing the same thing. He didn't come from another dimension, thankfully, but he was still a superhero hiding right underneath Tony's nose and that hurt a lot. It was a little better because Peter had been the one to decide to tell them instead of letting it get discovered, but still he only told them because he wanted Wally to be more comfortable. Wanting to be wrong, Tony asked, "Why did you tell us your secret identity? Was it really only because you wanted Wally to have someone he knew well around the Tower?"

Peter, stepping out of another Wally-less room, pulled his mask off, scrubbing his face and saying, "Someone found out who I was and told me that they wouldn't tell anyone else but that they think I should tell you guys if only to make Wally more comfortable, but… well, I guess I feel like you guys deserve to know. I mean… the reason I don't announce to the rest of the world who I am is because I've got people who I love and who I'd give everything to protect and if people know who Spiderman is, they'll hurt the people I love to get to me and I absolutely cannot allow that. I didn't tell you guys not because I didn't trust you to not tell other people, but because I didn't want an accident to happen where someone else found out from you guys. I know you would never purposefully betray me, but you can't prepare for everything."

"We can try." Tony argued half-heartedly. He was still trying to get used to the image of Peter Parker's face with Spiderman's body. Obviously it had always been like that, but he just hadn't seen it before. Just like he was having a hard time getting used to Wally's face on Kid Flash's body. The worst was when Kid Flash took his cowl and goggles off and he saw those scarred eyes. It made him want to travel to that alternate dimension for the sole purpose of beating the living daylights out of the kid's father. Then he remembered that the kid's father was dead. That wouldn't work then. Of course, he could always beat the living daylights out of the kid's mother for letting it happen, but he still always felt vaguely ashamed when he hit a lady. It just wasn't right. He wasn't being sexist or anything (Pepper would kill him), but he still felt like one shouldn't hit a lady. Unless one was a lady.

"You know we can just ask Fury to search through the cameras for him." Peter suggested as they searched another three rooms without getting any results.

"Nah," Tony replied, "I don't feel like it."

"That's not a good reason to not do something." Peter answered light-heartedly and Tony couldn't help the small smile that broke out on his face. This was a little banter match that they repeated constantly in the labs. Tony would want to just skip a step and Peter would tell him that he couldn't and it would evolve into what just happened. At least some things didn't change.

Tony replied, "It's good enough for me. Come on, it's like an adventure. Where's Wally?"

Peter rolled his eyes and slipped his mask back on just as a group of people rounded the corner. They glanced at the duo curiously for a moment before continuing on their way. Spiderman didn't take the mask off. After another long moment of silence, Tony asked, "Was it weird teaming up with us once you started working for me?"

Spiderman nodded emphatically, responding, "Totally. Especially the first time. I was fighting some big wig villain or something and then all of a sudden I see you guys, the Avengers rounding the corner and I couldn't help but think about the fact that an hour earlier I was just finishing up the tour of Stark Towers and I thought for sure that you guys were going to recognize me and take me and, I don't know, experiment on me or something."

Tony frowned, "What is it with you guys thinking we're going to experiment on you? Even Daredevil wouldn't join because we wanted some of his blood and he 'didn't want people experimenting on his blood and messing with it'. We don't experiment on people!"

Tony could tell, even with the mask on, that Peter was leveling him with an unimpressed stare as the spider-themed hero said, "You might not experiment on people, but I'm pretty sure SHIELD does. Just because I haven't seen any evidence of it doesn't mean it's not happening. They wouldn't let the human experiment subjects roam around free, but they're hidden someone. And I do not want to join them. I'm willing to bet that Fury hasn't told all of you where all of the SHIELD facilities were and if I were to disappear into thin air one day, you'd never find the research facility I was trapped in."

"You sound like a conspiracy theorist." Tony snickered.

Peter protested, "Dude! I'm serious!" And he sounded serious too, but there was some definite happiness in his voice. Tony was shocked by how different Peter talked around him now. There was still that awkward, shy, self-conscious, mega-nerd in his words, but there was also the confidence and power of Spiderman in his words. For once, he was showing all of his true colors at the same time. Maybe Tony would get to experience that same thing with Wally. Once they found him that is. The helicarrier was a lot bigger than it seemed on the outside.

The silence that settled around them this time was much more comfortable and controlled and the two of them reveled in it as they searched. This was the kind of silence they'd achieved working in a lab together, or waiting for a suspect to show up, but it was strengthened by a bond.

Now that Tony had his thoughts about Peter figured out, he decided to let his thoughts wander to the person they were searching for. Wally West-Wayne. Wally Wayne. Wally Murdock. Kid Flash. Falcon. Swift. They were all the same person. Really, the situation should have been just like with Spiderman. Reconcile the two, consider the reasoning for not telling them, and then forgive and ignore the elephant and in the room. Simple. Except it wasn't, not for Wally. Because of that one simple little detail. He didn't choose to tell them. There was a chance that he would never have told them about his night job or about his original home if it hadn't been forced out of him by circumstance. And the truth was that they'd never know if he was about to tell them or not. There was a chance that Clint would have talked to the kid and convinced him to tell the rest of them about who he was, but there was the chance that wouldn't have happened. He just didn't know. And he hated not knowing things. Knowledge was power and he had none of it at the moment. He survived and thrived on his smarts and they were failing him now, leaving him to flounder in the messy world of emotions.

Heaving a deep sigh, Tony focused further into himself, trying to analyze the knotted ball of feelings he had like Rhody had suggested trying. Apparently it was supposed to be helpful.

It wasn't helpful. It was stupid and confusing and did nothing to help the current situation. He growled lightly, barely even making a sound, but Peter somehow heard him (oh yeah, enhanced hearing) and asked lightly, "What's up?"

Deciding that the day had been a pretty truthful day, he chose to tell the truth, "I don't know what to think about Wally."

Tony could practically see the frown underneath the mask and smiled faintly to himself. Spiderman started talking, "I can't tell you how to feel about him. I can tell you that he expects all of you to either hate him or be terrified of him. He's afraid you guys are going to hurt him."

"We're heroes. We don't hurt people." Tony frowned.

"Think about it from his point of view," Peter started, "He thinks the same thing. Heroes don't hurt people. Then the Bat Clan – a group of entirely heroes – tries to kill him. They were his family basically and he fought beside them all the time and then they tried to kill him. A little while afterwards, the entire Justice League was put under mind control and Wally had to fight them too. They were his family too. Then he comes to this dimension and saves you and he gets taken prisoner and sent to an obscure SHIELD interrogation facility before escaping. Then he finds out that the heroes here kill which is so taboo against what his heroes do. It's understandable that he felt like there was a chance that you guys would hurt him."

Tony paused for a moment and actually considered what Peter had just said. That was a pretty legitimate reason to be afraid. It was at that moment that Tony realized that no matter what he decided to be mad about, Wally or Peter or Johnny even would say to think about it from Wally's point of view and Tony would realize that they were right. He couldn't imagine ever having to go through what Wally went through and to go through it blind on top of that. He did know for sure, though, that he would not have handled the situation as well as Wally did. In hindsight, the kid had handled the situation better than anyone else could have. Tony wasn't even sure if Natasha or Clint would have done as well and they were two super-spies. Before he could think further on that, Peter announced quietly, "Found him."

Looking ahead, Tony saw Wally curled up on a chair with Loki's cloak over him, sleeping. Loki was murmuring softly to the sleeping child, leaning his side against the glass plate of the prison they kept him in. It was an Asgardian prison transported to Earth for this very purpose. Loki stopped whatever murmuring he was doing and looked up once he heard the two heroes walking his way. His face curled into an irritated sneer and he said, "I am bored. I have been forced to hold conversation with this child for lack of anything better to do. I demand entertainment."

"Sure thing Rudolph. I'll make sure I tell someone about that." Tony responded sarcastically, moving to shake Wally awake.

Loki's voice stopped him, "Let him sleep. He is exhausted and deserves this much." Tony gave the god a strange look, not entirely certain what angle the alien was playing, but decided that it couldn't hurt going along with him this time and moved to pick him up this time.

Peter got there first, scooping the younger teen into his arms and cradling him carefully, somehow not dislodging the blanket. He started walking away with practiced ease, apparently not at all bothered by the weight of a teenager in his arms. He noticed Tony's shocked expression and chirped quietly, "Strength proportional to a spider. Gotta love it." Tony shook his head and sighed quietly before watching the two teen heroes walk off. He smiled at their backs, realizing that no matter how many secrets they kept, they were still the same people and they still trusted the Avengers, loved them like friends even. Tony shook his head again and started off after the two. It was time to get home.

SSSSSS

Steve Rogers was a little bit appalled by how light Wally was. He'd taken the speedster from Spiderman's arms as they got onto the quinjet, helping the older teen hero strap the younger into a seat without disturbing him. The quinjet was silent, everyone lost in their thoughts and respecting Wally's need to sleep at the same time. Steve himself was going over everything that had been said, desperately trying to make sense of everything, trying to organize it all out and figure out what he was going to do with the information. He inhaled deeply and exhaled just as deeply, setting his head back on the seat and closing his eyes. What was bothering him the most about all of this?

Wally was too darn young. Spiderman was too, but Steve wasn't going to open that can of worms yet. So, Wally was too young. Too young for what? For being a superhero, for going through everything he went through, for making life-altering decisions, for keeping all of this dimensional traveling business to himself with only Spiderman (who was also too young) as a confidante. Why did age matter in all of that? It didn't really matter per se, because one was never old enough to experience the things Wally had been through. And one didn't always get the choice to make a decision or not. Sometimes everyone will die if you don't make a decision, so age really had nothing to do with that. Apparently his powers were due to an accident and he didn't choose to have those, so age really isn't in the equation there either. But, he could have chose to not be a hero though. He could have waited for that. He didn't tell them how old he was when he started fighting crime because he'd obviously done it before joining forces with Daredevil. That didn't help Captain America figure it out though. He was eighteen when he left his dimension so he could have started crime fighting after he turned fourteen. Or he could have done it before. He said he'd gotten his powers seven years ago, but Steve wasn't sure if he meant seven years before fourteen or seven years before eighteen. Either way, it was practically guaranteed that he was still at the most a teenager when he started fighting crime and he could have definitely waited to start doing that. Unless something forced his hand and made it so he needed to save someone. And Steve was the first to admit that being a superhero was addictive. Once Wally started it would have been almost impossible to stop.

Steve sighed again. He just didn't know enough about the kid to form proper opinions. He'd asked question after question and gotten truthful answer after truthful answer, but he was trying to get the rundown of Wally's entire life in one go and it just wasn't enough time. And there was a chance that he'd never get all the information he could want on the kid. There was a chance that he wouldn't get to know the happy speedster as well as he wanted to because the speedster could go back to his own dimension and not come back. Steve hadn't even known the teen for a month and he was already heartbroken at the thought of never seeing him again. There was no way the others would live with it either. They would be devastated. Steve determined then and there that no matter what he'd find a way to travel between the universes easy so Wally could come back as often as he wanted to. It would be difficult because Wally needed to go to school or his job or whatnot so he couldn't come to this dimension for months or weeks at a time, but still. They would make it work. They were the Avengers, the Earth's Mightiest Heroes. If they couldn't figure this out, then what use were they?

Glancing at the sleeping form of Wally, Steve noticed that Spiderman had fallen asleep against his friend, his head resting on the speedster's shoulder and his chest rising and falling at a slightly slower rate than Wally's. The two were just kids and they were stuck in an adult world where everyone told them they couldn't do it and they weren't ready or strong enough or mature enough or smart enough or experienced enough and yet they continued to fight their way to the top, saving people and inspiring people and making people laugh. No matter what Wally says, the two of them still had at least some innocence about them and that made everyone love them that much more. That same love turned into a need to be protective, though, and sometimes that meant that the people who loved them like sons or little brothers clipped their wings and prevented them from reaching their full potential. Looking at the expressions on their sleeping faces, noticing the peace and strength and innocence Steve made a final vow. He would protect them, but this time he would do it right. He would let them fly and let them grow even if it meant that they got hurt, but he would always be there for them. He would be there for them to ask for help before, during, or after the event and he'd pick up the pieces when they fell. He would protect them this time.

NNNNNN

Natasha Romanoff watched as Steve carried their boys into Wally's room. There was (courtesy of Stark of course) a rather large couch that transformed into a bed on one side of the teen's temporary room, so Natasha unfolded it as Steve gently put Wally into his bed, settling Peter down on the futon next. He nodded to Natasha and walked out of the room quickly, probably ready to get out of there and deal with this on his own. That was most of the Avenger's reactions. They all separated, traveling to different areas of the Tower and not speaking to each other. Natasha was impressed that Steve managed to get the two teens to their beds before he took off like the rest of the group.

Eyes sad, Natasha gently nestled Wally under the covers, tucking him in like a mother might do. She wondered after his words if he ever had a mother do something like this. His biological mother certainly hadn't. Brushing an errant wavy strand of bright red hair, Natasha reflected on the fact that he might leave and never come back. She didn't know what she would do if that happened. She'd never had a child and never would for the simple reason that she can't. Well, she hadn't found just the right person to bring life into the world with yet either, but even when she achieved that she wouldn't be able to have the children.

Then came along this little genius with red hair like her own and a pale complexion like her own and that sad, broken tilt of his shoulders when he thought no one was looking. Like her own. And yet he still smiled at them and laughed and made jokes and gasped and cried alongside her when she'd ask him to watch some of her sappy soap operas. Most people wouldn't assume that she'd like that kind of show, but she loved them. Maybe it was because their problems were so trivial, their world so bright that she could look past the cheesiness and clichés. It didn't really matter. All that mattered was that Wally, this intelligent blind teenage would sit and listen to the TV with her when no one else would. He missed a lot because he couldn't see any of what was happening and he couldn't rely on his other senses besides hearing, but he always waited until the commercial to ask what he missed.

He would cook with her too, mixing things and chopping things and generally doing his best to not mix up the ingredients. He was actually a surprisingly good chef and the two of them, being the best cooks of the Avengers, often made dinner for the whole group. And whenever she said she needed someone to go shopping with her so she had someone to help carry bags, the adults all chickened out, claiming to have other engagements. But he'd just smile that bright smile and say, "Can I work on homework in the car?" And they'd talk and he'd do homework and then they'd go shopping and he would see how many bags he could hold onto and still use his walking cane properly.

In essence, he was the perfect son. Her perfect son. Everything she ever would have wanted, everything she needed in a son was right there in front of her with the name Wally and that day she'd had to face the harsh reality of the fact that he's not hers. He has an adoptive father who has an on again off again villain girlfriend. She doesn't fit anywhere in there. She shouldn't have even assumed that she fit in with his life now with that blind lawyer Matt Murdock as his father of sorts. Mr. Murdock hadn't officially adopted him, more hid him from child services, but it was obvious that Wally still preferred living with Mr. Murdock over the Avengers. Over Natasha.

And then there was Peter. She'd meant what she said when she told him that spiders need to stick together. Now that he told Fury his secret identity, things could get bad fast for the teen and she didn't want that to happen. She'd protect him and she'd take care of him, but it'd be more like having a little brother than having a son. He's more like a son to Stark who's just like him but older and more stuck up. That was the perfect father-son pairing if she ever saw one. And, for a time, that was perfectly okay because she had Wally to dote on and have dote on her. Now… now there was a chance that her son was going to go away and the only chance of communication is a hole in the sky. Closing her eyes, she sighed softly. This must be what most mothers feel like at some point. Probably when their children are going off to college. She would be letting him into the big wide world all on his own with his friends and not her and they'd only talk when they could both find the time.

She knew that if she told anyone about this, they would just tell her to think optimistically and hope that he was going to be able to switch between dimensions rather easily. Natasha didn't do optimistic thinking though. She did realistic thinking. She didn't want to get her hopes up for something that was likely to not come true.

Brushing another curl out of his face, she pressed her lips to his forehead and moved on to tuck her little brother, Peter, into his bed. She thought of the way Daredevil had stood when he'd come onto the bridge of the helicarrier earlier that day. She could tell in the tilt of his shoulders and the jut of his chin that he was angry and she could tell from the frown on his lips that he was sad too. She'd immediately went to the camera and shuffled through it to watch the footage of when Daredevil and Kid Flash were talking. She saw them argue and then she saw Daredevil leave, Wally breaking into tears almost as soon as he was out the door. Natasha hadn't waited a moment longer to rush to the room where Wally had been, but he wasn't there when she got there. He must have left at some point.

So she'd went through the footage again and found Wally sleeping in front of Loki. Going back to the bridge, she'd settled in a chair with her tablet in front of her, playing the scene of Loki and a sleeping Wally. If that god tried to do anything to her son, she'd know and she'd take him out. It was obvious that the stress of telling everyone who he was mixed with left over injuries and exhaustion from being kidnapped for a week and then adding one's superhero partner being mad at you took a toll on him. Even in sleep there had been worry lines etched into his face, a slight downward tug at the corners of his mouth.

After tucking Peter in and removing his mask so he'd be a bit more comfortable, Natasha stepped outside, grabbing a plush chair and settling it next to the door. If there was any movement inside or outside of Wally's room, she'd know and she'd wake up. There was a chance that she was going to lose her son forever, so she'd be his mother for as long as she could.

BBBBBB

Bruce had watched as Tony had gone to Pepper once they'd gotten back to the Tower, practically falling into her arms as he inhaled her scent and dragged her off to their floor. Bruce didn't have anyone he could do such a thing with, so he'd secluded himself to one of his personal labs, putting the materials together to make an SDS-PAGE. It was a helpful thing to make when he was stressed because he had to focus so thoroughly on his task. If he didn't do everything right, down to mixing the correct concentration of sodium dodecylsulfide and making sure he was already pipetting the resolving gel in between the glass plates before the TEMED caused the mixture to polymerize, the gel would fall apart. Even as experienced of a scientist as he was, he still occasionally had trouble with these. The tiniest mistake could lead to so many problems. If he didn't put the plates together properly, it would leak. If he didn't put the comb in just right, the stacking wouldn't turn out. If he missed with his micropipette, he'd puncture the gel. If he didn't get the timing right for the electrophoresis, the proteins could get stuck in the stacking gel or run off the resolving gel.

It was kind of like talking to people. If one didn't word their sentences in just the right way, the entire conversation could fall apart. It might go downhill right away, or it might take a while to realize that you made a mistake and the entire thing is going to not work. Sometimes Bruce thought that people were harder to handle than experiments like running a PAGE or an 1x Agarose gel or a Gram stain. At least with the experiments, one had an SOP, a formula of sorts. Of course, everyone tweaked it to do whatever works best with them and their equipment, but there was still a basic underlying formula that worked for everyone, everywhere. With talking to people, though, it was like there was a different formula for each person and one had to discover it themselves as they're talking to the person. The formula was built on each person's specific past and environment. No two people could ever possibly have the same formula. But two people could have similar formulas.

Bruce believed that he and Wally had similar formulas. The things that Wally had done, the lies that he'd told, the mentality that their abilities could be a curse, those things were all the same for Bruce. The last one was a little different because Wally truly loved his powers, but he did still believe it was a curse and Bruce certainly believe that the Other Guy was a curse. He knew that Wally was terrified about what was going to happen. Bruce wasn't sure if anyone had told the blind teen about the Council or not, but if Wally found out he was going to be furious and even more scared. The Council was his biggest danger. These were the people who were willing to nuke New York. If they decided that Wally, a single person, was a threat, they would have no problem ordering his demise, child or not.

Resolving gel complete, Bruce started on the stacking gel as he waited for the resolving to polymerize. He thought back to the videos Tony had showed him of the kid's powers and wondered idly if the kid could take down the Other Guy. Did he have the skills, the powers? That could be helpful for future knowledge. Glancing back down at his work, Bruce sighed deeply when he saw that his resolving gel had leaked. Wasn't that why he'd started making a PAGE gel in the first place? So he would stop thinking? Well, it hadn't stopped him from thinking and now he'd messed up. He cleaned the liquid carefully, keeping in mind that the polyacrylamide was a potential carcinogen.

Looking at his ruined experiment, Bruce thought to himself that he was going to talk to Wally tomorrow, heart to heart, show him that he understood. He just hoped that he read Wally's formula correctly and something like this doesn't happen during the conversation.

TTTTTT

Thor was unsure about what to do. Clint had climbed into the vents and Tony had left with Lady Pepper. The Doctor had left, mumbling something about a lab and the Captain and Lady Natasha had left to put the two young warriors in bed. The Captain had left the Tower soon afterwards, apparently going running. It seemed as if that calmed him down. This was what calmed Thor, sitting on the rooftop and watching the stars traverse the sky slowly, warily, as if wanting to stretch the moment on forever and ever. His home planet was somewhere out there, waiting for him to return. His friends were there and he missed them greatly, but he would miss his Jane more if he were to leave her. He'd never loved someone like he loved her. He loved her with every fiber of his being and he would never leave her, never willingly hurt her.

And, from the expression on Wally's face, Thor knew that Wally felt the same way about this Artemis of his. It broke his heart to know that the young warrior was separated from his love by such a distance. They were in different dimensions. From what they said, it sounded like parallel dimensions. Wally might be standing in the exact same spot as his Artemis at the same time, but it wouldn't be the same because they'd be in different dimensions and there would be no way of knowing.

Thinking, Thor decided that once everything calmed down, he would introduce Wally and Jane. He thought that the two of them would get along well together and he would bond with Wally over their loves. He would do everything he could for Wally while the child was in this dimension because Wally was a part of the Avengers family now and Thor would always be there for his family.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally the other dimension shows up again.

TTTTTT

Thor watched with sad eyes as his brother was moved to the interrogation room, hands cuffed and a retinue of guards surrounding him from all angles, prodding him when he moved too slow. It was like Loki was only cattle to them. It angered Thor that they would dare treat an Asgardian prince that way, but then scenes of said Asgardian prince murdering people and the Battle of New York and so many lies would flicker in front of his eyes and he'd frown again, feeling that perhaps these Midgardians knew what they were doing. Thor was with the other Avengers, watching through a glass that he was assured was opaque on the other end. Loki would not be able to see him. Thor wasn't sure if that made him happy or not. He decided he would figure that out another time.

Once Loki was settled, Lady Natasha moved into the room with all of that dangerous grace that she chose to exhibit. Watching her slide into her chair was like watching a poisonous spider position itself in its hiding place, watching its prey scurry around in confusion. Loki spoke first, "Oh great, they sent you again. I have no plans to release the Hulk this time if that is what you are looking for." He aimed a sneer in her direction after the statement. Thor reflected on this Loki that he saw in front of him. The god of mischief was sneering, face contorted in hatred and anger. There was so much hurt and negative emotions swirling in his gaze and he curled in on himself protectively, still trying desperately to ooze confidence. He had always been… aristocratic compared to Thor's boyish and childish nature, but he never used to hide his emotions so thoroughly. He did not used to play these games with malicious intent. He would play pranks and word games for his amusement, but never to purposely hurt someone. Why had Thor not noticed this change sooner? What could he have done to prevent Loki from becoming this person who set chained to an interrogation table in front of him?

Natasha finally chose to speak, her head tilting to the side like a spider considering its target, "You care for the boy. That's why you were willing to give yourself up and that's why you prepared the base so it would be easy for us to get in."

The sneer grew more pronounced and Loki scoffed, "Hardly. I told you, I merely find him interesting. Most Midgardians are so boorish and uninteresting. I do not care whether he lives or dies." Thor had been momentarily hopeful, listening to Lady Natasha speak because maybe, just maybe, there was someone out there who could help undo whatever it was that Thor had done to his brother that had turned him into this.

The Russian assassin raised a single eyebrow, pushing a tablet in the direction of the god with one delicate finger that could easily destroy a man. She checked pressed a button and suddenly a conversation was flooding the room. There was a series of pictures showing on the screen as well, but Thor was too far away to see much more than a vague image of the body of the speedy young warrior. He settled for listening to the conversation.

"I'm scared." That was the voice of Wally. The voice continued, "Daredevil is mad at me for keeping everything a secret. Human Torch didn't seem that bothered by it – he seemed more relived that I told him than anything else. Spiderman, well, when I told him months ago, I hadn't been lying to him for very long. I'm scared that the others are going to react like Daredevil did. I didn't want to lie to them. And then, when I get back to my dimension, I'm scared that everyone will have moved on. What if we don't all click like we used to? What if they… like it better without me?"

"Is that really what you think? If they think that way then they surely aren't worth your time anyways." That one was the voice of Loki and it was said with exactly the same tone that he had held during his interrogation.

Wally spoke next, "Thor doesn't like it better without you." Thor started, unprepared to hear his name. Why was he being brought into the conversation? Wally continued, "He talks about you a lot. He tries not to talk about you when Hawkeye and I are around because we don't have the best experiences with you, but I've got enhanced hearing so I could hear him talking about you. And he always says good things. If you hadn't killed my friends at that lab, then his words about you would have actually made me like you." Thor felt his heart throb, touched that this child who had known him for less than a month would say such nice things.

The next thing came out of mouth of Loki, "You sound tired." Thor's lips spread into a smile. That was what Loki had sounded like when they were children and he was not broken like he is now. It encouraged Thor to hear that.

What Wally said next ruined any happiness Thor had just received, "I'm tired of lying. I'm tired of being here. I'm tired of missing my friends and family. I'm tired of worrying. I'm tired of constantly checking my back for super villains creeping up behind me. I am tired." Was that really how Wally felt all the time? Why would he divulge that information to Loki and not any of the others? Thor looked at Loki's expression, trying to gauge how well this was working. Loki looked almost… pained as he listened to the conversation he'd had with the young warrior. What had happened when Wally was in captivity that had formed this strange, twisted bond between hero and villain?

There was a long pause before Loki started talking, seemingly to himself, "I know not about your life. I only know what I can surmise and what Savage told me, but I know that it was not a pleasant one. How is it that you can still smile like that? How is it that you can project such a happy persona? I wish to be granted happiness again, but I fear that is not to be. I fear that I must live through you in your happiness. Your bright, pure happiness. I have never felt this feeling of… this protective instinct before, but somehow you managed to drag it out of me without even trying. That seems to be another talent of yours. You truly are a magnificent creature. I would waste my attention on no other Midgardian." There was another pause before the voice of Loki started again, "I wish that your dreams come true and you are able to return to your home dimension and that you are able to visit this one. I hope that your wishes are granted because I know that mine cannot be." Thor felt his heart tighten as Loki spoke, a sort of desperate sadness that he knew his brother would never willingly let another person hear.

Natasha pressed the screen of the tablet and the sounds stopped, Wally's sleeping figure frozen in time. She once again raised a single eyebrow at the god and repeated, "You care about him."

This time Loki bared his teeth at her, eyes blazing, "So what? What does it matter to you, wench?" Captain America frowned deeply from beside Thor, eyes darkening. Thor simply watched on.

Natasha seemed to be unphased, responding evenly, "You care about him so you are going to tell us everything you know about Vandal Savage and his plans."

There was a long moment of silence. Minutes passed and it appeared as if there was some sort of war going on inside of Loki, projected in his expressions. Reluctantly, he spoke again, "Alright. I will part my knowledge unto you, but for a price." There was a deep frown on his brother's face, but a calculating quality in his eyes.

"Go on." Natasha commanded.

Loki said, "I wish to aid you in your quest to find a method of sending Kid Flash home. You need magic for it to work properly, so I will join you in that Tower for Avengers if you wish for your information."

Natasha paused for a long second, waiting, before questioning, "Does Savage have a secondary plan in place?"

"Yes," Loki replied, "If he was unable to get the information he needed from the child or if the child died before the information was acquired, he would return to his Earth. Currently he claims to be on something called the War World which he can apparently pilot to wherever he wished to go. Once returning to his home planet, Savage planned to inform the heroes there that Falcon was alive and in a different dimension. He would let them do the research that the child had already completed and then take the information from them once they completed their research. He would likely send a villain through the portal first to test it and relay the information back to me. I would then join him in the child's home dimension."

Wally's voice from behind Thor distracted him from the sight of Natasha leaving the interrogation room. He had not known that the young speedster was anywhere nearby. Wally said, "That's bad if Savage has control of the War World."

Thor witnessed everyone in the room freeze as the child came in. Even Lady Natasha froze in the doorway, eyes widening for a second before her gait resumed and she came back in. The room suddenly became tense with nervous energy. Thor could tell that everyone in the room was unsure as to how to act around the young hero, so he took the initiative and asked, "What is this War World?"

"It's literally a planet that doubles as a space ship. It has incredibly advanced weaponry including a grand laser emitter, which can destroy a planet in seconds. I'm pretty sure it was damaged by Doctor Fate during a battle to defeat it when it was trying to destroy Earth, but Savage or the Reach might have fixed it while they had it in their control. The War World has the capability of shooting off missiles and it has a lot of other energy powered weapons to defend and attack. On the inside there are hundreds, thousands maybe of battle drones. It's got a ton of stasis chambers which have been used to keep heroes prisoner. It needs this crystal key thing to stay working. I think Savage was hiding it from the Reach at some point, or stopping them from getting to it or something. I don't really know. Either way, Savage obviously has the key and the planet which could be devastating for Earth. Or, my Earth." Wally explained, brows creasing over large dark glasses. He had come as a civilian, not a hero.

The Captain's voice was tense and a little awkward as he greeted, "Wally. How are you this morning?"

Wally's head turned towards the Captain and a brow rose gracefully, just like Natasha's. He answered, "Fine, thanks."

Tony asked awkwardly, "So, does your kind of dad, Mr. Murdock or something know that you're gonna continue living with us? Cause he kinda sued SHIELD when you went missing and, as hilarious as that was, it probably wouldn't be good to have that happen again."

Wally's countenance seemed to darken and he muttered, "Yeah, he knows. And Foggy says that he's still planning on suing, but he's gathering extra evidence." Thor could barely hide his laughter when he saw Fury frowning deeply.

Silence reigned for a few moments before the Captain continued, "So with that planet thing in his possession, he has the possibility of destroying Earth? Why would he need Loki then?"

"He doesn't want to destroy Earth." Wally answered, the tone of his voice implying that the response was obvious. Thor once again fought the urge to chuckle. After a second, Wally continued, "He wants to rule the Earth. He can't do that if there are heroes in his way. He needs to not only permanently remove them, but he also needs to remove them from the hearts of civilians. It would be pretty easy. He would get Loki over to my old dimension and then he'd start his plan. The world knows that Savage is a villain, so he can't try to win over their hearts. So he mans the War World and tells the heroes that if they do anything to try to stop the new person coming to power in politics then he'll destroy the Earth. The new person working their way up the political ladder in world politics would be Loki. He's the god of lies, right? Well he would make a great politician. Queen Bee, another villain, already has a pretty good stake in world politics and it wouldn't be that hard to get Count Vertigo, yet another villain, into power in Vlatava. I mean, after I stopped him and Queen Perdita got proof of his traitorous ways, she's going to be a lot more wary, but there's only so much she can do and the heroes wouldn't be able to help her. Lex Luthor, another villain, could easily work his way up to being president in America. G. Godfrey Gordon doesn't help much with all his anti-hero stuff he spews. There are a lot of people who hate us anyways and the things he says – he's a news anchor by the way – only makes more people hate us. While the members of the Light are coming to power on Earth and the heroes are held captive by the War World, Savage would send someone else, probably Klarion and other assorted villains, to quietly take the heroes out, maybe discredit them while they were at it. They could create new villains too."

Thor stood with the others in stunned silence. Wally made it sound so easy to take over the world. It made Thor wonder just how vulnerable the Midgard he stood on currently was. Tony voiced Thor's thoughts, "Would it be that simple to take over our world?"

Wally's voice was light with reassurance, answering swiftly, "I wouldn't say simple. Keep in mind that Savage has been around for fifty two thousand years. He's had that entire time to plan it. He has enhanced intellect. Plus he's teamed up with a lot of other people who've been planning world domination for years and who have the power and smarts to back it up. Plus you have people who are willing to protect your Earth. You'd be surprised how many people come out of the woodworks prepared to help when there's a chance of world domination." He finished with a smile, obviously trying to reassure them.

Thor wondered sadly who would reassure Wally. He was explaining how this horrible thing couldn't happen to their world while it was about to happen to his own. And there was nothing they could do to stop it. No, there was something. Thor announced confidently, "Then we will find out how to send you back to your dimension before that happens." The bright smile Wally bestowed upon him made it all worth it.

VVVVVV

Vandal Savage had been furious when he'd come back only to have some low-life messenger relay the information that Loki had been captured by the Avengers and that Falcon was no longer in his grasp. He had raged around for a time, terrorizing a few planets, scaring off even Klarion who normally enjoyed a good show of Chaos. Soon, though, he'd gathered control of his emotions once more and calmed himself down. It was time to begin Plan B.

DDDDDD

Dick sighed as his comm beeped at him encouragingly, telling him to pick it up and find out what the person wanted. Sighing again, Robin grabbed the device and put it to his ear. He didn't even get a chance to get a word out before Bruce said gruffly, "Get to the Watchtower now." There was a beep and his adopted father was gone.

"Why does he always do that?" Dick muttered to himself as he slid his mask into place, checking quickly to make sure that all of his amenities were in his utility belt. Rolling his eyes, the hero stepped into the zeta transporter Bruce had recently added to Robin's newest hide-out. Since Artemis – now as Tigress – had dedicated herself to the Team, Robin had moved down to Bludhaven and protected it since it was hard to be in Gotham and be constantly reminded of his only younger brother. Who was gone. Dead. Everything had fallen apart when Wally left. The Team fought more than it worked together. Jinx and Bart were in an on again off again relationship, continuously getting into some argument or another. Tigress had become cold and distant, separating herself from the others, only focusing on her work, becoming more and more ruthless as time went on. Roy had gone off to another country, fighting crime there and raising his child with Cheshire at his side. He hadn't talked to anyone from the League since Wally had died a little over seven months ago. Dick hadn't seen any of his siblings since that day either. Jason still occasionally worked with Bruce since they protected the same city, but they ended up arguing constantly and fought each other more than the villains. Damian and Colin had set up in Palo Alto, protecting the city Wally had lived in for four years, the city his friends live in, the city his love lives in. Tim had stuck to the Teen Titans and Cass to Hong Kong. Bruce and Dick communicated occasionally, but not nearly as often as they should have. That was part of the reason the comm message had come as a surprise. The other reason was that Dick hadn't been to the Watchtower since he temporarily resigned from the Team. Now he was being called there.

Arriving on the zeta beam transport platform, he listened as his name was announced, followed by his number. He frowned with the familiarity of the place, seeing Wally around every corner. He finally made it to the conference room that was normally used for emergencies and was met with a large group of people. The original seven were there, along with Hawkman, Red Tornado, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Red Arrow, the Team, and the Bat Clan. Dick frowned in confusion, asking, "What's going on here?"

The group turned around, M'gann crying out, "Robin!" and rushing to him, pulling him into a hug like she did the last two times he'd seen her. The only two times he'd seen her since Wally died. Robin answered the hug lightly, giving the others a nod of greeting and trying not to feel hurt when Tigress just stared back at him without returning the nod. She was like that to everyone now.

Batman was the next one to speak, saying, "I received information last night that I believe would be best if you all heard. I've run tests on the message and have determined that it is real and that it was recorded two days ago. I don't know who sent it. Listen." With that, he pushed a button and an audio began to play:

"I've brought him as you requested." The voice was unfamiliar and Dick glanced curiously at his mentor, wondering what was going on.

The next voice that spoke was definitely familiar and Dick felt a growl building in his throat. Vandal Savage said, "Good. So, Wally, I hear you are being stubborn." Dick could feel the tension in the air as everyone stared at Batman, wondering if he was going the way they thought he was going with this.

The next voice that spoke took Dick's breath away, "I'm not stubborn, my way is just better." It was Wally. That was Wally's voice. It was a little off, sounding a little… young almost, but it was most certainly his younger brother's voice. He would have recognized it anywhere. Plus, that was totally a Wally thing to say. Dick didn't know whether he wanted to cheer or cry, so he settled for silence. The clip played on.

"Watch your tone." An unfamiliar voice said.

Savage countered with, "There is no need for that. He will not be speaking to me like that for long. I'm sure you have some questions. Why don't we do it this way? You ask me a question and I swear to be truthful and then I'll ask you a question that you answer truthfully. You can find out more about your home dimension and I can get what I want. It's a win-win situation." Home dimension? What was going on right now?

Wally responded, "Alright, you're on. How are you talking to us right now when you're still in the other dimension?" There was more about dimensions. Did that mean… Dick's eyes went wide and he stared at his mentor again, vaguely noticing the confused expressions of the others.

Savage answered, "I found one of those dimensional holes you discovered. With a few spells, I was able to make it so I could speak to whomever was on the other side, which just so happened to be Loki and it just so happened to open up in Antarctica. The spells are quite easy and Klarion could teach them to Loki with no problem if that helps you with your research. I have not yet been able to get the holes to open, however." So, Savage wanted to know how to do dimensional travel and Wally was researching the same thing, probably trying to get home. This Loki character had magic. Savage continued, "What is the secret identity of Superman?"

Dick heard Uncle Clark suck in a breath, but Wally's next answer caused him to let it out with a chuckle, "Could you ask an easier question pretty please?"

Savage growled, "Now you listen to me! You are going to do exactly as I say and-,"

Wally interrupted, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were an expert on my life and how I should live it. Please, give me a second to grab a pencil and some paper and then continue while I take notes." Dick felt a few tears trickle out his eyes and pool into the material of his mask and was sure that the others were having the same reaction. This was their Wally. He was alive.

That unknown voice, Dick surmised it was Loki, hissed, "Stop it!"

Savage spoke next, "You think you are so smart, so funny with your annoying drivel! You are nothing!"

Wally responded, "I wouldn't be such a smart aleck if you didn't give me so much to work with."

Savage said, "You are lucky I am in a different dimension right now. If I had you where I could get my hands on you, you would dream and beg of the days stuck in that prison you are in now. I would make what Loki's men have done to you feel like heaven. Do not anger me, boy." Dick felt his blood boil. Someone had hurt Wally. That was not okay.

Wally said, "Wow, you take clichéd to a whole new level. Do they, like, have a handbook or something for that? 'Super Villain Threats and Comebacks for Any Dimension' written by Wimpy Moron. They should make one for superheroes too so we have something equally stupid to say in response to the stupid things you say."

There was a moment of silence before Savage asked, "You're awfully quiet. Has it finally sunk in that you are at my mercy? Are you finally worried?"

Wally snarked back, "I don't get worried. I'm a giver."

Loki spoke again, "This isn't working. He isn't going to give anything up."

Savage responded, "He will if I threaten his friends."

Wally snorted, "If you were in any position to hurt my friends, the world would be yours by now. Face it; you need to ask a hero for help because you're too stupid to do it on your own. Even with your enhanced intellect. It makes me wonder how you were before you got that. I don't know how you even survived on a day to day basis."

Savage spoke, "Why do you even bother? You know that if you go home you won't be accepted. Your friends don't miss you. You'll never fit back into the world they build without you. I mean, how old are you now?" Dick really hoped that Wally didn't believe that. He had to know that they'd love him no matter what. The comment about age confused him though. Then he thought back to his earlier thought about Wally's sounding younger. Was it possible he got de-aged?

Wally responded, going for cheeky, but sounding frustrated, "Every second I'm one second older; can't count them all."

Loki sighed, "This is a waste of time Savage. He's not going to take you seriously when you're in a different dimension. You cannot physically harm him from where you are and he doesn't believe that you can get at any of his friends from where you are either. You aren't going to get anything from him this way."

The last thing on the tape was Savage saying, "Maybe not, but I certainly hurt him somewhere. Words can be such a damaging thing, especially for one who is so insecure that they must hide behind brash comments and annoying remarks. I expect his cooperation soon." Then there were the sounds of footsteps walking away and a cold, sadistic chuckle before the audio stopped and the room was left in silence.

Tigress was the first to speak, her voice sharp with pain and anger and sadness and reluctant hope all at once, "What was that?"

Batman answered concisely, "This is evidence of Falcon still being alive. Presumably he was sent to another universe."

"So that means we can find him, right? We just need to go back to Antarctica and start some research and then we'll find him and bring him home!" It was obvious that Flash was ecstatic; he was practically vibrating with good energy. Impulse wasn't much better. Dick himself was still reeling. Wally was alive. They could find him. It would take some time to get the technology right, but they'd be able to find him. Based on what Savage said, the research would need to be a mix of science and magic, but they had Zatanna and Doctor Fate on their side. Magic they could do. For science, well, they had Barry and the Bat Clan (although they weren't necessarily good at the practice of science, they were all trained to understand and theorize scientific things) and Atom and so many other science nerds and they could even get STAR labs to help out. Science they could do. That meant that bringing Wally home was possible, plausible even.

Red Robin's voice broke the moment, asking curiously, "What did Savage mean when he asked how old Falcon was? Are we certain that it even was Falcon? Voices can sometimes sound different over audio and it didn't sound right either." Some of the Team glared at Tim, furious that he seemed determined to ruin the joy they'd felt. Dick, however, could see Tim's point. The voice did sound different, not quite like their younger brother. Just because Savage said Wally didn't mean that there wasn't someone else named Wally out there who sounded like a young Wally West-Wayne although it was unlikely.

Batman addressed Red Robin and the room as a whole, "I compared the audio to voice files of Falcon at various ages. It is an exact match to when he was fourteen."

There was another beat of silence, disbelieving this time, before Roy asked incredulously, "Are you saying Wally got de-aged? He lost four years of his life?"

"Yes." Batman responded simply, voice gruff and emotionless as usual, but Dick could see the calculating tilt of his scowl, the way he was obviously distracted, already thinking over the problem and trying to come up with a way to fix this.

Flash spoke again, still excited, "Who cares? We'll work on a way to age him back to normal while we work on a way to get him home. Maybe he'll be re-aged when he comes back through to this dimension. Or maybe he has people who can help him wherever he is who can age him back to normal." His words were almost running together at the end, speeding like only a speedster's words can.

Tigress's voice was rawer, more open when she spoke again, "Is this really happening? Are we really bringing Wally home? He's alive. He's alive." That was all it took for her to burst into tears, sobbing into M'gann's shoulder when the Martian moved to comfort her. It didn't take long for others to start weeping with joy around them, cheering and sobbing and feeling like a light had come back on in their lives. No one noticed the Bat Clan slip out of the room like silent wraiths, moving towards a cave in Gotham.

They all arrived within seconds of each other, the convenience of multiple zeta beam transporters. Batman moved immediately to a spot in front of the computers, checking a test that had been completed before making a few notes and closing the window, finally turning to face his children. This was the first time they'd all been in the Cave together since Wally. Jason's voice was furious was he asked, "Why did it take you this long to tell us about this message? You got it last night. We should have been the first to know!"

"I wanted to make sure it was real first so as to not get anyone's hopes up." Batman, no, Bruce, answered tiredly, his cowl off and a hand scrubbing across his face.

"We can deal with a false lead, Bruce. We could have helped you, made it go faster. The more time you waste, the more time he's stuck there. Because you waited to tell us, you lost a night and most of a day of time that could have been used to think up ways to get Wally out of that other dimension!" Tim exploded.

Suddenly there was the sound of metal clattering to the floor, whatever was on it lifting into the air and falling again with a soft thump. The group turned towards the stairs coming from Wayne manor and saw Alfred standing there, one hand held to his mouth, the other gripping the stairs, his eyes wide. A platter with sandwiches was on the ground in front of him, somehow without any of the sandwiches having fallen off. Things like that were just part of the reason Wally always called Agent A the ultimate ninja. Alfred coughed slightly before carefully leaning over and grabbing the platter, making it the rest of the way down the stairs with a grace only a butler like he could have managed. He coughed again and said, "Sorry for the noise, Master Bruce. I was unprepared to hear that Master Wally was in a different dimension and not, in fact, dead."

Cass let out a small, tiny, barely noticeable giggle at Alfred's calm words that were both accusing and curious. Bruce coughed slightly, the only obvious sign that he was embarrassed, before he said, "Yes, well, I received evidence last night that shows that Wally was likely sent to a different universe and de-aged when he… disappeared from the MFD."

"Ah. Very well then. I'm sure I can trust you all to get him back soon, yes?" Alfred asked carefully, only the tiniest waver in his voice betraying his joy. He was casually handing out sandwiches as he said it, the Bat Clan taking off cowls and masks and basking in Alfred's wonderful food preparing skills.

Bruce's face was completely serious, his eyes alight with determination as he answered, "We will get him back." Dick couldn't have agreed more.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoom sucks.

SSSSSS

Steve was exhausted. He wasn't even doing all of the work! For the past three weeks, he'd watched as Tony and Bruce slaved all day in the lab, trying to find a way to send Wally home. Then he'd watch Wally and Peter come back to the Tower immediately after school, going straight to the labs and doing their homework the best they could while they were waiting for lab stuff to happen. Steve was sure that there was a more technical term for it, but he honestly didn't want to know. Peter would call his aunt every night and stay on the phone with her for a while, during which he was normally doing calculations or waiting on a machine to finish. Steve noticed that Wally never called Mr. Murdock and Mr. Murdock never called Wally. Sometimes Steve would catch Wally playing with his phone, the speaker asking if he wanted to call Matt Murdock. He would sit there for a moment before telling it no and telling it to turn off. Steve wasn't sure what had happened between the two of them, but he knew it was definitely upsetting Wally.

The four scientists, while they were working, often forgot to eat so one of the other Avengers or Pepper (normally Pepper) would bring up food whenever they remembered. The mix of Peter's enhanced metabolism and Wally's really enhanced metabolism made it so Pepper had to make the trek to the lab a lot. Then, normally around ten or eleven, Wally and Peter would call it quits, donning their suits and going out to patrol Peter's normal routes. According to news sources, no one had seen Kid Flash and Daredevil together since Daredevil left the helicarrier that day. Steve knew it must be crushing Wally that two of the people he should have been able to trust, Matt Murdock as his kind of father and Daredevil as his partner out on the field, were so obviously avoiding him. It was hard to see. Peter and Wally would come back from their patrol at two, three in the morning, absolutely beat. Sometimes they'd come back to the Tower even later; on rare occasions they'd come back just in time to inhale some breakfast and get going to school.

Steve had no idea how the two kids survived in those kinds of conditions. They were always doing something strenuous – whether it be physical strain or mental – and they got little to no sleep and not as much food as they should be getting, but Natasha and Pepper did a pretty good job at packing a lot of food in their lunches to last throughout the day and apparently Wally had compartments on his suit that had food in them too for patrols.

So, Steve decided that everyone needed a break. They'd have one big team bonding day where he got all the scientists out of the lab and the whole group together for an activity. He already had a plan in mind and he was sure it was going to be great. He'd already told the other members of the Avengers that they should meet in the main room, but now he was going to go try to get the scientists out of the lab.

When he walked in, Bruce and Tony were arguing about something, Wally and Peter standing off to the side, eyes wide like they were watching their parents fight for the first time. Steve rolled his eyes and nodded a greeting to each of the teens, gaining a smile and nod from them in return. He was just in time to hear Tony say, "Your calculations have to be wrong. There's no way that he could have fit into a hole that small, dimensional or no."

Bruce argued, "There had to have been some aspect of magic involved. I mean, magic was needed to get communication between dimensions to work, so why not to get travel between dimensions to work?"

"Based on your calculations, the hole is about as wide as my splayed hand. You're suggesting that there's some sort of magic that allows someone's body to shift so they can fit through a seven inch hole." Tony stated.

Another voice called out from the corner, "I myself know of no magic that can do that." Steve jerked his head in the direction of the voice, finding Loki sprawled languidly over a chair, a bored expression on his face and hands chained to the walls. He'd been like that since they brought him here. He was wherever Wally was when Wally was at the Tower. He even slept outside of the kid's room, looking for all the world like he was guarding Wally's room.

Tony's voice brought Steve's attention back to the argument, "See? Even he agrees with me."

Bruce ran a hand through his hair and lightly massaged his temples, suggesting, "Perhaps his molecules vibrated fast enough to actually disassemble his body long enough to go through the portal and then once he stopped vibrating he came back together again." Steve had to stifle a laugh at the horrified expression on Wally's face.

Tony's hands flew up in the air and he said, "That doesn't make any sense! The speeds his molecules would have to be vibrating at… it's ridiculous. No one's molecules can survive that!"

"Maybe it's a speedster thing," Steve suggested half-heartedly, "He can vibrate through solid objects so maybe that MF whatever thing made him vibrate… even faster? And his, uh, molecules could… survive because they, um, are good at going… fast?" He really had no idea what he was saying. It had made sense in his head but then he started talking and it just kind of went downhill from there.

The look Tony sent him could only be described as baleful as the billionaire said, "How much experience do you actually have in a lab setting?"

"Uh, I dissected a frog once in high school." Steve shrugged. He wasn't all that good with science and he wasn't afraid to admit it. He tacked on at the end, "I was experimented on and turned into a super soldier too. That's experience in a lab setting." Tony just shook his head at him, a disappointed expression on his face.

Then Wally spoke up, "Wait, no, that actually kind of makes sense. I was running as fast as I possibly could. I mean, it was run fast or let the entire world get destroyed so I kinda had incentive. When I run, I tap into the Speed Force. There's a chance that when the MFD was hitting me, using me as an outlet, it forced my cells to go faster, also forcing me to tap even further into the Speed Force. That could be what gave me my boost when I got to this dimension! The MFD forced me to tap into the Speed Force more than I'd ever done before and now it's easy for me to take in that much more of the Force since I've already done it once."

"That still doesn't explain how your cells would have survived. I mean, seriously, the speed's we're talking about here… there's no way anything could survive through that." Tony continued to argue his case.

Wally shook his head, red tresses shaking, "No, you don't understand. The Speed Force literally allows us to ignore the rules of physics. Some of the things we can do go so against everything we know as scientists it's ridiculous, but that's what the Speed Force does. We always chalk it up to another speedster mystery." He got the little fond smile on his face that he always wore when talking about his home dimension. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

Tony frowned and considered the new information before saying, "So that's the key. Or, at least, one of them. Only speedsters can travel through dimensions the way you did because only speedsters can survive the trip. If we factor that into the rest of the research… so many things make more sense. There's so much more we can do now."

Steve had watched as realization dawned on the philanthropist's face before he started reaching towards his science tools. That was what jarred Steve into remembering what he'd come there for, "Oh no you don't. You are all coming with me and we're going to have a team bonding day. You are all taking a break." Tony literally pouted at Steve, his eyes wide and his lip jutted out and his arms crossed. Bruce looked equally pitiful and Wally seemed conflicted.

Peter, however, suggested lightly, "We do kind of owe him because he's the one who technically thought of the speedster theory." His tone was joking, but the adults in the room could hear the desperate plea for a break that Peter was trying so hard to hide. Wally nodded in agreement with his friend, cementing the deal. It was so obvious that the two of them needed a break, that they were falling apart at the seams because they were trying to do too much at once.

Tony sighed exasperatedly and said, "I guess you're right. Come on, out we go. Off to the main room to find out what Capsicle has in store for us today." They all walked out, someone disengaging Loki's chains from the wall and leading him with them. They'd attach the chains to a wall in the main room once they got there. For now though, Loki knew better than to get the Hulk angry.

Steve sighed and shook his head, leading the procession to the room where the rest of the Avengers were gathered. He smiled at them and said, "Alright, so we're going to start our day off with some Shwarma and then-," He was interrupted by the alarms blaring in the Tower, intended to alert the Avengers when they were needed out and about. Steve glared at the offending speaker system while he ran to get his outfit, getting into it as quickly as he could. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a quick blur of yellow with hints of red and suddenly Kid Flash was standing next to them, Wally hidden behind a cowl and goggles. Steve wasn't the only Avenger who stopped and stared at him. They'd never seen him get into his suit before. It was certainly impressive. Shaking off his awe, Steve continued getting into his suit, completing the transformation into Captain America.

The rest of the Avengers were right behind him as he ran up to the quinjet, listening as Tony relayed JARVIS's message through the comms, "JARVIS says that there's something going on in Hell's Kitchen. Apparently there are energy spikes that are ridiculously high. It's on the edge of the area, as close to the Tower as one can get in Hell's KitchenDaredevil is currently getting people out of the nearby park and buildings."

Steve had noticed how Wally tensed when Tony said Daredevil and was about to say something, but Kid Flash spoke first, "I'm going to run ahead and help Daredevil out. I can get the people out faster and I know where you're talking about." With that, he was off, speeding through the streets, little more than a yellow blur with red edges.

Hawkeye shook his head as he started up the quinjet, "It freaks me out a little that he can get there way before we can and we're in a jet and he's running."

Wally's voice entered into all of their ears, sounding amused, "You might want to check to see if you're still broadcasting before you start speaking. Someone might hear you otherwise."

Steve held back a laugh as Hawkeye winced, trying to apologize to the kid without actually having to apologize and having Wally just laugh at him. Tony asked after a moment of silence, his voice metallic, "How fast can you get people out of buildings without hurting them?"

"Think about it this way: I can clear the entire population of Tokyo in thirty seconds. Besides, the Speed Force aura protects people I'm holding while I run." Wally answered, the sound of wind coming from his comm, obviously showing that he was running.

Tony said, "You're definitely explaining that better when we get back. That might be helpful for the research."

"It's also pretty helpful for your curiosity, right?" Wally asked, a hint of amusement creeping into his laughter as Tony tried to deny the question.

The quinjet finally landed on top of a building near the park. Daredevil and Kid Flash were already waiting for them, heads tilted up towards the jet as it made its descent. They were standing farther away from each other than they normally did, not even tilting their heads in each other's direction. It was painfully obvious that they were at odds. When all of the Avengers had disembarked, Daredevil growled at them, "What are you doing in my city? I didn't need your help clearing the people."

"But you might need help with whatever is happening that's causing the energy spikes." Black Widow pointed out, her voice leaving no room for doubt.

Daredevil scowled at her and said, "I can handle what goes on in my own city. If I thought it would be more beneficial with you here, I would have called for you."

"Just leave it alone, Daredevil. They're here and they're not leaving. Besides, they're the 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes'. Technically every city is under their protection." Wally pointed out, his voice tired.

"That doesn't explain why Spiderman's here. This isn't his usual route. And since you're patrolling with him, this isn't your usual route either." Daredevil responded.

"I live here. I think I have a right to protect it." Wally scowled.

Daredevil said bitterly, "No, you live at Avengers Tower, not here."

"Either way, this is still my city too. It's home." Wally shot back.

Daredevil growled in return, "It's not your home. Your home is in a different dimension. Not here. Not in my city." Steve watched as Wally's hands curled into fists and uncurled again, his hands blurring somewhat. He watched as Daredevil's scowl lightened and he seemed to turn a little bit as if to comfort Wally before turning back again, away from his partner. It was obvious that both of them were hurt by the revelations that day three weeks ago and that both of them just wanted things to go back to normal, but weren't sure how to get it there.

Captain America was about to say something, trying to get the two to realize that they were being foolish and could easily fix their partnership, but a laugh from the street next to the park stopped him. Lightning crackled and struck the ground, something that was reminiscent of a portal opening up where an abandoned car used to be. The laugh started again and Steve saw all the color drain from Wally's face, his mouth opening in an expression that could only be described as horror. A man stepped out of what had to have been a portal, laughing, "What do you know? It actually worked."

Thor noticed the growing horror on Wally's face and asked seriously, "Young warrior, who is that man? You seem to know him."

Wally whispered two words, "Professor Zoom."

BBBBBB

Batman resisted the urge to scrub at his face tiredly. That was something Bruce would do, not Batman and he wasn't Bruce right now. He growled at the hero in front of him, "What do you mean it's missing?"

Captain Atom didn't back down, attempting to stand just a little taller, "I got here this morning and all the research we've done in the past three weeks was gone. The person who took it didn't just copy it, they copied it and then deleted it all. From every system. Unless someone has it somewhere we don't know about, then all of our research on dimensional holes is completely gone." The entire Justice League had put non-stop effort into this research, using every bit of technology available to them. It was no wonder that it took them so little time to compile everything they had. It wasn't enough to send someone into another dimension yet, but it was almost there.

Batman announced easily, "I still have the research."

Superman frowned at him, "I'm not sure whether I should be annoyed or thankful."

Flash said, "Thankful."

At the same time, Green Lantern said, "Annoyed." The two glanced at each other and shrugged at the same time. Bruce rolled his eyes underneath the cowl. Barry and Hal were like two children when they got together. It was ridiculous.

Choosing to ignore them, Bruce turned his attention to the monitors which were currently displaying a laughing Robin face that appeared and disappeared at intervals. Eyebrow quirking at the fact that his second youngest still chose to have that appear when he hacked things, the caped crusader watched the scrolling lines of code as his son hacked back to the original hacker. Once the last Robin face disappeared along with the last of the code, Batman asked, "What did you find Robin?"

"It's going to take me a lot longer if I want to actually track this down to a certain person, but I can tell you that it's the same person who sent the audio clip of Falcon earlier. I think… I think whomever it was who sent it wanted us to start researching how to travel between dimensions and once we figured it out to a point where they could fill in the rest of the blanks, they planned to take it." Robin announced.

"How would they know when we'd gotten that far on the research?" Black Canary asked.

"Another mole like me?" Red Arrow suggested.

Arsenal shook his head, "I don't think they're stupid enough to pull that twice."

"Then a traitor." Green Arrow said, a frown contorting his features.

"Maybe not. We can't just jump to conclusions like that." Flash said, always willing to allow the benefit of the doubt.

Batman was only giving them half and ear, however. He was focused on the new code scrolling across the monitors, this time being guided by Red Robin's hands. He was searching through the system to see if the drop off of the audio clip left anything in the system that Batman hadn't been able to originally find. Batman suspected that there was a hidden code that only activated, only became real, once the sound had been played a certain amount of times. Red Robin finally isolated the code sequence and Bruce cursed inwardly. He should have seen this. The person who sent the video would have known that the video was going to be thoroughly searched over, repeatedly. But that person apparently also knew that they would listen to the clip over and over and over again to try to get clues to help them with their research. He must have set up a subroutine that said that after the video had been watched x amount of times, it would start scanning the computer, checking the research. The person who sent it would get updates on their research and know immediately when it was time for them to step in and steal the research.

Just then Oracle, who had taken over for Robin and started back-tracing the sender, spoke up, "I found who sent it originally. I hadn't been able to trace it from the original message because there wasn't enough there for me, but this extra line of code helped. You're not going to like who it is."

Flash asked impatiently, "Who is it?"

Captain Marvel asked curiously, "What extra line of code?" Nightwing, who had been looking over Red Robin's shoulder, explained the extra code quickly and concisely, aware of Flash's tapping foot.

Once he was done, Oracle spoke again, "It's Savage, Vandal Savage. He did it from the War World, but he had to have had some sort of help somewhere along the way. There's a chance that this was a mix of magic and tech."

"If there was magic involved, I would bet that Klarion had something to do with this. I will try to find out." Doctor Fate announced, moving forward and pressing his fingers lightly to the keyboard. After a second (where Flash's toe tapping grew faster), Doctor Fate said, "Klarion definitely aided in this creation."

"He probably wants to tell that Loki dude how to get over to this dimension. It's obvious he can talk to him." Red Hood added, lounging against the wall.

Flash frowned, "Wait, think about our research. We found out that only speedsters can travel across dimensions using those dimensional holes. There might be other forms of interdimensional travel, but we haven't found them yet. This one is only for speedsters. It didn't sound like Loki was a speedster. It sounded like he was a sorcerer or something. That would mean he can't get through."

Aqualad shook his head, "We do not know that for certain, though. There is a chance that he has magic and is a speedster."

"No, I agree with Flash on this one. He just didn't… sound like a speedster. I mean, you guys have heard us talk; we all talk slightly faster and with a little bit of an impatient tone. He didn't have that. I don't think he's a speedster." Impulse asserted.

Tigress threw her arms in the air, "Then why even take the information? If there's no way for this Loki character to get through then why bother and alert us to the fact that it was him all along?"

The whites of Robin's mask widened with his eyes and he said, "Maybe he does have a way."

"Oh. I hadn't thought of that. That makes sense." Red Robin added. Black Bat nodded in agreement.

"Anyone want to share with the rest of us?" Superboy growled.

Red Hood said, "There's a super villain who's also a speedster who would probably be willing to go to the other dimension and then come back again with Loki. The Speed Force aura would probably protect Loki on the way back to this dimension."

Batman saw the moment realization hit Flash. His face paled, his mouth dropping slightly in horror. Impulse had the exact same reaction. Horror decorated both of their faces and their voices as they said in unison, "Professor Zoom."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that my whole little bit about coding was probably completely wrong and inaccurate and probably mildly offensive to people who actually do coding, but I have a hard enough time turning my computer on let alone understanding how coding and hacking works.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Contact is made.

PPPPPP

Peter couldn't stop the gasp of horror that was torn out of him, his head whipping back around to look to where Reverse Flash was standing. Eobard Thawne was walking leisurely out of the portal. He saw the outfit that was a complete reverse of the Flash's costume (Wally had drawn the Flash's outfit for him one time, trusting Peter to give him the colors he was asking for). Black Widow turned her attention to Wally and asked, "Professor Zoom? Who is he?"

Wally, still pale and hand vibrating, responded, "He's… he's another speedster. He's a villain."

"Can you beat him?" Captain America asked seriously.

The bit of Wally's face they could see from under the cowl seemed helpless as he shrugged, "I didn't used to be fast enough, but I've gotten a huge boost. There's a chance that I could beat him now. I don't know."

It seemed like Clint was going to say something, but Professor Zoom spoke first, "Wally West-Wayne, come out come out wherever you are!"

"Thank goodness there aren't any civilians around." Peter breathed out, relieved that, at the very least, Wally's identity will remain intact.

No one else had a chance to respond, because just then Professor Zoom turned his head to look straight at the group standing in on top of the building, the quinjet parked on top a dead giveaway. In less than a breath, less than a quarter of a breath, Zoom was standing right in front of them. There was a single, tense, tableau moment where both speedsters had their heads tilted towards each other, bodies thrumming with power and faces contorted with hatred and anger. Natasha and Clint were reaching for their weapons, Thor and Tony were recoiling in shock, Daredevil was crouching in preparation, Steve was reaching out to do something – grab Wally maybe? – and Peter was taking his first step forward to stop the inevitable clash. It was a frozen moment where everyone realized that they were going to be too slow and that this wasn't a battle they were meant to – able to – fight. And then time started again, two yellow blurs smashing into each other and racing down the side of the building, swarming across the park, racing so fast that the grass was burning beneath their feet.

Matt shouted, "Kid Flash!"

At the same time, Steve shouted, "Wally!" The two glanced (well, Steve glanced at Matt and Matt just shifted his head) at each other before turning their attention back to the two battling throughout the park. They would disappear for short stretches of time (normally only seconds) before showing back up in the park again. Peter wondered where they were going. He wondered if they made it to different cities or states during their minor excursions. He wondered if Wally was winning. Sometimes it seemed like the shorter yellow blur was leading and sometimes it seemed like the taller yellow blur was leading. Peter couldn't tell what was going on.

Voicing his thoughts, Tony growled metallically, "I can't keep up! Even JARVIS can't track them through video cameras and stuff before they're already gone."

"My enhanced eyesight can't keep up with them either." Steve frowned, shading his eyes as if that would help him tell what the two blurs were currently doing. At the moment, the blurs were just shifting and moving around each other in the center of the park, probably doing some sort of hand to hand fighting. If Peter strained his ears, he could tell that the two were talking about something, but he couldn't make out the words since they were talking at super speed. It was frustrating to watch, not knowing how the battle was going, only knowing that one couldn't join the battle. There was no way any of the rest of them could keep up. So they watched, praying that Wally was strong enough to win the battle.

WWWWWW

Wally growled as Eobard got a good hit in. They were somewhere in Connecticut and Zoom's blow sent him flying back a good hundred yards. Coughing at the sensation of slamming into the ground, ribs creaking ominously, Wally was already standing and blocking another blow, aiming another of his own only for that to be blocked as well. He zipped back a little ways before charging forward unexpectedly again, being met with Zoom running back a few (hundred) paces before the two clashed again. Wally turned and ran and the two of them ended up back in the park they started in. Wally could hear his friends griping about being unable to keep up with the fight. To be honest, he wasn't sure if he could keep up with the fight either. He hadn't sparred against a speedster for over eight months now and it was obvious in his attacks. He'd done his best to practice like he was fighting against someone who could move as fast as he could, but there was only so much one could do when there weren't any other speedsters that he knew of in this dimension. Now, despite his extra boost in speed, he was still struggling to keep up.

The only reason he was still in the fight was his Bat training. He knew how to fight when he had the disadvantage whether that disadvantage be height, strength, weight, speed, skills, et cetera. So he punched and kicked and tripped and rolled and dodged and blocked all in the space of a single second and the fight just kept going. Zoom sneered at him, "You know, the only reason I agreed to come here was to kill you. Honestly, I don't think it was worth it. You're hardly posing a challenge. This fight is quite boring. Fight back, Wally! Show me what you can do! Actually fight me!"

"Wouldn't you rather sit down over hot chocolate and talk it out like real men?" Wally quipped as he ducked under another punch, tucking in and rolling, coming up behind him with a blow aimed for a pressure point on his neck.

Thawne was able to turn in time, the jab bouncing painfully off of his collar bone. He chuckled, a hint of pain creeping into it that made Wally vindictively proud, before saying, "It seems like you really are a child like Savage had said. I wasn't sure I believed him at first."

"Just because I like hot chocolate? I don't think that's a fair accusation. A lot of adults like hot chocolate." Wally responded, a desperate hint of tiredness in his voice that he couldn't hide. The two tore out of the park again, clashing and separating and clashing again as they ran cross country. He felt the ground beneath him change from grass to concrete to tar to a forest floor to water to rock to desert to concrete to forest to meadow back to the familiar grass of the park they started this in. His next controlled punch sent Zoom flying through the air, smashing through a couple of trees on the way. But then Zoom was back up and throwing his own punch. Wally blocked punch after punch after punch after punch before a lucky one made it through his defenses. He was thrown to the side, tripping over a park bench and still moving so fast that he actually went through it, his body solidifying with his ankle in a small hole that it shouldn't have been able to fit in before he started vibrating again, going all the way through the bench that time.

Eobard laughed, "It seems like you've finally figured out how to vibrate through things. Barry would be so proud." His voice was a sneered, mocking sound that grated on Wally's nerves.

Wally growled, "Don't talk about-," he smashed his fist into the older speedster's jaw as he finished the sentence, "-him!"

Professor Zoom's head snapped back before he reared his arm back in the air. Wally heard it whistle as it flew through the air towards him. He dodged it, but then it snuck around behind his back and latched onto his neck, Zoom's other arm coming down on Wally, endlessly smashing into his ribs, his face, his side, his neck. In the space of a heartbeat Zoom landed a thousand blows. But Wally wasn't going to take that sitting down. The femtosecond Zoom faltered in his blows, Wally twisted out of the hold and planted Zoom's face in the dirt. He followed it with a kick to Eobard's leg before pulling out his special speedster resistant handcuffs and preparing to cuff the elder speedster. Reverse Flash pulled out before he could clip them shut correctly, though, rolling them over until Wally was trapped between him and the ground. A rock shoved itself into the small of his back and every breath made for Zoom pressing into him even harder. Then Professor Zoom ripped his arm out from between them and threw the handcuffs away, sending them flying out over the park to lodge in a cement wall hundreds of feet away. Zoom elbowed Wally before flipping up, giving Wally time to do the same behind him. They were left with Zoom vibrating with energy in front of Wally, each new vibration causing a hum as his cells moved at impossible speeds. Wally was vibrating too, anger written into every twitch of his body, every movement of his hands. He would not let Zoom get away.

Professor Zoom mocked, "This must be awful for you. There's no where you can run that I won't find you. What are you going to do now?" Wally thought about it. What was he going to do now? Zoom was right. He couldn't do this. He couldn't run faster than Zoom.

Then Dick's voice came floating back to him from all those years ago. He remembered his family finding out about his speed for the first time. He remembered telling them how much he hated his powers and how worthless he thought they made him. And Dick had said, "You shouldn't hate your powers because they're a big part of you and you can't just forget about them." That was right. He couldn't just forget about them. They were a big part of him. They were a huge part of him. His powers were part of what made him special, what made him a good hero. And what kind of hero would he be if he couldn't defeat Zoom and save this new dimension from whatever horrors the evil speedster had in mind? So what if Zoom was fast? Wally could be faster – would be faster. He was determined and he was smart and he was powerful and he could do whatever he wanted because he was a speedster and a Bat and a Wayne and nobody messed with a Wayne. Grinning to himself, Wally turned around and ran.

PPPPPP

Peter watched as Wally suddenly changed direction and ran the other way. Zoom seemed confused too, because he tilted his head long enough for Peter to actually see it before getting into a running stance. He didn't get a chance to start though because Wally was whipping around from behind him, smashing into him. All Peter saw was a yellow streak go past Zoom before Zoom stumbled as if struck. Seconds later Wally was back, Zoom stumbling again. And then again. And then again. And again and again and again and again and suddenly whenever Wally blurred by, he seemed to be almost glowing and Zoom was definitely glowing with whatever it was that Wally was doing.

Tony's voice, incredulous, sounded from behind Peter, "He's running around the Earth."

"What d'you mean?" Clint asked, his bow still aimed at Zoom as if that would help.

"What do you think I mean?" Tony snapped, "He is literally circumnavigating the globe. He's running in a straight line until he shows up back by, uh, Professor Zoom I think he was called."

"You can't know that for sure." Steve argued.

"Yeah, I can! I'm watching video feeds of people from across the world. There is a yellow streak following a straight path around the world." Tony argued back. He pressed some sort of button and a holographic screen came out of his suit for the rest of them to see what he was seeing. It was… terrifying. A yellow streak would come tearing down the road, the asphalt ripping apart beneath his feet, windows shattering as he passed, cars literally being thrown in the air as he passed them.

Peter shook his head, "That can't be right. He's coming back too fast. If he was going around the world…"

Tony finished for him, "If he was going around the world, he'd be going full circle in 4.56 seconds. That's how long it's taking him, on average, to go around the entire Earth." There was a certain amount of awe in his voice that even the metallic sound of his suit transferring his words couldn't hide.

They turned their attention back to the park where Wally was consistently running past Zoom and knocking him off. Then, suddenly, Zoom fell and Wally stopped. Peter webbed himself and a couple of the other non-flyers off the building, watching as Tony flew with Steve and Daredevil did some fancy parkour and they all ran closer to where Wally was vibrating, sparks flying off him, lightning dancing over his body and striking the things nearest to it. He grabbed Eobard Thawne by the front of his suit, hands still vibrating and Zoom desperately tried to match his vibrations to Wally's so Wally's hands wouldn't hurt him. He couldn't go fast enough though. Then Wally started going even faster. Blue light emanated from the pair of speedsters as their vibrations increased.

Then Zoom was gone. He was just suddenly not there anymore. Peter stepped closer to Wally, curious, but then Wally turned towards them, body shaking out of control and Peter realized that he could see through the teenaged hero. His eyes widened and he started sprinting towards Wally as the speedster smiled, "I did it." And then he was gone. There was nothing left. He was completely gone.

Bruce's panicked voice came from over the comms, "What just happened? Where is he?" He had been left in the quinjet with Loki whom they didn't trust to be left in the Tower alone. He wasn't likely to try anything when he was in a small area with the Hulk though.

Steve responded helplessly, "I… I don't know."

There was the sound of bickering over the comms, too muffled to really be understood, before Loki's voice suddenly sounded out, "He is still there, fools. He went too fast and the Speed Force that he apparently gains his powers from has taken him. Spiderman is closest to the portal. It is currently invisible. Reach out and you should touch it. Pull him back through. Save him."

Peter's head snapped up after being named and he stuck his arm out blindly, swinging it around as he walked forward, trying to find the spot Loki was talking about. Wally was still alive. He had to be. Peter would save him.

Finally Peter's arm hit something, a great portal, vortex thing that grabbed his arm and pulled. He had to dig his feet into the ground to stop from being sent spiraling away into wherever it was. The Speed Force probably. He could feel the speed, the kinetic movement of his arm, being ripped away the longer it stayed in there. The teen shouted desperately, "Wally! Grab my hand! Wally!"

There were several gasps when Wally's voice floated back to them, content and… sleepy almost, "Peter? I'm with the Speed Force. It's so beautiful here. There are others. They're calling to me. The Speed Force is calling to me. It's calling me home. I have to go now." Peter felt his fingers brush against something else that felt vaguely like an arm and he clenched onto it, ignoring the fact that he was probably cracking the bone with his enhanced strength. He started yanking back, trying to pull what was hopefully Wally back, but Wally wasn't helping any. It was like he was trying to pull a mountain behind him.

He yanked desperately and called out, "You can't Wally! You have to come back! Wally!" On the last call, other voice joined him as a strong arm grabbed his other wrist and started yanking with him, trying to pull him and Wally out of the Speed Force. Peter felt more than saw when Natasha and Clint and Matt and Thor all joined in. Tony got on at the end and activated his propulsion mechanisms, propelling himself away from the portal, pulling the others with him. They all desperately kept their grip on the others, yanking and pulling and finally, finally succeeding.

All of them tumbled into a pile on the ground and Peter had a moment of hopeless panic as he realized that his hand wasn't holding onto anything, but then he saw Wally there in front of him, kneeling on the ground and trying to get his breath back. Peter stumbled over to him, falling next to him and resting a hand on his shoulder. Before he or Wally got a chance to say anything, Daredevil was there, practically pushing Peter aside and gathering Wally into a hug, holding him tightly and saying over and over again, "You're safe. You're back. You're safe. Don't ever leave me again. I'm so sorry." Wally buried himself into his surrogate father's chest and arms and just shook quietly. He wasn't doing that awful vibrating that was so fast that all he had been was a big blur. He was just shaking like a normal human.

The Avengers came up behind Peter and Steve clapped his hand on the spider-themed hero's back, smiling down at him, tired lines pulling at the corners of his eyes. Natasha was the first one to speak, her voice showing no regret for breaking the moment, "What happened to Professor Zoom?"

Wally tilted his head towards them, still tucked into Matt's arms, "He's still in there. He… I trapped him in the Speed Force. I don't really know how. I just… did it. It was… horrifying. I could feel his speed slipping away until he was completely stationary. There was no kinetic energy left in him." The redhead shivered, curling in on himself as if it would drive the nightmare away. He continued, "The Speed Force is like… there were so many other speedsters there. Speedsters who've died. That's where they go. They go to the Speed Force when they die and they give their speed to it and that's what I draw upon when I use my powers. I draw upon the speed of the dead."

There was such awe and terror and longing in his voice that it scared Peter. For the first time he felt afraid of this Speed Force which gave Wally his powers. And thinking back to how Wally had looked moments before he'd pushed Zoom into the Speed Force, he had to admit that this was the first time that he'd been afraid of Wally too. Thor opened his mouth to speak, probably to congratulate Wally or something similar, but a different voice stopped him. Above the street, exactly where Zoom had come out minutes (had that entire fight really only taken four minutes and thirty six seconds? Peter shivered at the thought) earlier, a blue light started glowing over a thin line. A voice, female and authoritative with a hint of nervousness, asked, "Wally?"

AAAAAA

Artemis didn't know what to do with herself. She was standing off to the side while the Bat Clan programmed and Captain Atom and various other techy, geeky, engineer, sciency people built stuff and Zatanna and Doctor Fate magicked things. She couldn't do any of that and she felt so useless. This was her boyfriend that they were trying to get into contact with. The hope was that they would be able to get into contact with him before Professor Zoom came and they'd be able to warn him, but there was a very real chance that they were too late. They weren't sure how long it took to travel from one dimension to another and they didn't know the exact time that he left.

The blonde archer stepped out of the way of another science geek engineer person and rubbed her arm self-consciously, trying to melt into the shadows. M'gann though, wouldn't let her. The Martian girl floated over to Artemis and hugged her tightly, smiling. She asked brightly, "Nervous?"

Artemis considered brushing her off and giving a simple one word response to the negative, but this was M'gann. She was Artemis's best friend. So Artemis leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes, letting out a heavy sigh, "Yeah, I'm nervous. What if… what if… what if it doesn't work and there was all this hype for nothing? What if it does work and we were too late and Zoom got him? What if he didn't just de-age physically but mentally as well and he doesn't remember a lot of what we went through together? What if he found someone else because he thought he was going to be stuck in that dimension or something? What if he's different? What if he doesn't like me anymore?"

M'gann put up with her ran with a gentle smile on her face. She started idly playing with some of Artemis's hair, twisting it into a French braid like she used to do when they were still on the Team together. Megan answered softly, "Wally was planning on marrying you. He was obviously dedicated to the thought of the two of you spending the rest of your lives together. Why would he suddenly give up faith in that relationship, or stop liking you? You certainly don't have to worry about that with Wally. If he doesn't remember it all, then you can wait the little bit of time it takes until the Justice League figures out how to get him back to normal. And don't worry, it'll work and Zoom won't get him. You'll see. It'll be fine."

Artemis was just answering the green girl's blinding smile when Captain Atom announced, "We got it. It's working. In one minute it should start transferring. From the audio, it didn't sound like there was any sort of delay or anything, so that shouldn't be a problem. Just keep asking for Wally or, if it works better, Falcon, until someone ends up getting him there." Artemis stepped up to the blue light they'd magically put on top of the dimensional hole. They were in a facility they'd built in Antarctica so they could work with the hole right there to test spells and technology on. Captain Atom put his hand on her shoulder and said, "You'll do fine, Tigress. Just be yourself." She gave him a small, grateful smile before turning back to the blue light. She could do this.

When he signaled that the minute was up, Artemis swallowed and said with a hint of nervousness, "Wally?"

There was a long, terse pause and she was just getting ready to try again when a voice, a voice she recognized, low and more childish then the last time she'd seen him, but still filled with that unmistakable brightness and impatient nature that was inherent to all speedsters, said, "Artemis?"


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's adorable until the Council interferes.

WWWWWW

There had been a long, terse pause after Artemis's voice called him name. Then, suddenly, it was like his voice had returned and he called out, barely breathing, "Artemis?" He paused, stepping away from Matt and Peter and the others and stepping closer to that spot where he had heard his loved one. It was like with Vandal Savage. He couldn't hear any heartbeats or breathing or normal human sounds, but he could hear her oh so beautiful and sweet and loving and perfect voice.

And then that voice spoke again, "Wally!" She hiccupped a little laugh and a little sob and whispered his name again, so, so happy.

He stepped even closer, vaguely hearing his friends doing the same behind him, "Artemis babe, how've you been? How's Brucely? And everyone else? Gods I've missed you." His last sentence was a breath out, an admission, a truth he'd been carrying with him from the moment he woke up in this strange new dimension.

Her laugh was less tears and more joy when she responded again, "Of course you'd ask about the dog. We're all fine. Now that, now that we know you're… you're alive, we're fine. We thought you were dead Wally. Flash came back and said that you told him to tell us that you loved us and then you didn't come back."

"I know babe. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry you all had to go through that, but I'll be home soon, I promise. I'll be home soon. And hey, did you know that kissing helps reduce cortisol, which is a stress hormone, levels? You seem pretty stressed. How about when I get home I help you reduce your cortisol levels?" Wally felt his eyes fill with tears as he tilted his head up towards the same spot he came into this dimension from all those months ago.

"I love you Wally." Artemis breathed out.

He smiled, bright and warm, "I love you too."

There was a momentary pause before another voice broke through, "Wally?" It was Dick. Dick was there and Artemis was there and Wally was talking to both of them after months of thinking that there was a realistic chance that he'd never get home.

Through his tears, Wally said, "You're such a third derivative of a quadratic function Robin."

Robin laughed, that signature cackle that got him strange glances at rich people parties when they were kids, "The first time we talk in eight months and you call me a jerk? In math terms? That's hardly fair."

"I think it's plenty fair to call you a jerk. I was talking to my girlfriend. Besides, I figured you'd like the math reference you little mathlete." Wally replied joyfully.

"Who are you calling little? I'm older than you!" Dick scoffed.

"But I'm smarter!" Wally shot back, sticking his tongue out victoriously.

"You're both morons." A new voice announced emotionlessly, someone sounding bored and beyond happy at the same time.

Wally smiled, "Nightwing."

"Obviously." His eldest brother responded easily. Only someone who knew him well would be able to tell that he was fighting the urge to show emotions as well as he could. Sometimes even a Bat couldn't hold their feelings back. Before Wally could make another comment, more and more people started calling out tearful and laughing hellos. He heard Uncle Barry, Bruce, Jason, Tim, Steph, Colin, Roy, Cass, Uncle Oliver, Uncle Hal, Uncle Clark, Aunt Shayera, M'gann, Conner, Kaldur, Bart, Jaime, Jinx, Oracle, and so many others. He could barely get out proper responses through his laughter and tears. These people were his family, his world. He'd missed them so much and he hadn't known if he was ever going to see them again and now here they were talking to him. They were still in a different dimension which was too far away but he could deal with that as long as he got to talk to them like he was talking to them right then. They would fix this and he'd go home.

Then, once they were done, Batman announced gravely, "Professor Zoom has been transported to the dimension you are currently in. We are unaware where he will come out, but you should be vigilant looking for him."

Wally interjected before Batman could continue, wincing as he spoke, "He already showed up. I… we fought. I went too fast. I pulled the two of us into the Speed Force." He heard Uncle Barry and Bart suck in breaths, understanding immediately what that would mean. He kept going, "My friends managed to pull me out, but… not Zoom. He's still in there. He's stuck in there. I don't think anything could get him back out again." His voice was thick with guilt as he spoke.

Uncle Barry said it first, "It was self defense kid. You did well. And I'm assuming you stopped him from hurting anyone else?"

"Yeah. No one else was hurt." Wally responded.

"Then you did what you had to do." Batman announced and that was all that he needed. They didn't blame him. They didn't hate him. The Avengers didn't understand, couldn't understand because they killed people when they fought them. They didn't have the no kill rule that the Justice League stuck by as often as possible.

"Thanks." He said, voice still thick with emotion. So much was happening at once, so many good things. It seemed like things were finally going well again.

Oracle broke in, "You said your… friends managed to pull you out of the, uh, Speed Force. It seems as if we have some people to thank."

Wally felt his cheeks heat up as he realized that he'd basically ignored all of his friends from this dimension while he was talking to his friends from his own dimension. Matt's low chuckle that was meant for his ears open let him know that none of them were truly upset with him. He shyly started introducing them, "There's Daredevil who've I partnered with on the hero-ing front. He has a friend who's been taking care of me this entire time, giving me a home to live in and stuff. Then there's Spiderman. He goes to my school and he's my best friend in this dimension. He's the first person I told about the whole dimension thing. After that there are the Avengers. They've been working with me to find a way home. Captain America is the leader and then Iron Man and Black Widow and Hawkeye. There's Hulk and Thor. And recently Loki's been helping out. There's another group of heroes, the Fantastic Four, who've been helping me out on the science front, hero front, and friend front too."

Batman's voice was sharp as he got straight to the point, "Loki? Is he not the one who was working with Savage? Who had you hurt?"

Wally tilted his head to the side, "How do you know that?"

"Savage sent an audio clip of him talking with you and Loki. He had a code hidden in it and when we got far enough on our research he took it. That's how he sent Professor Zoom to the dimension you are currently in." Batman answered.

"So you know how to get me back?" The currently teenaged speedster asked excitedly.

"No." Batman growled, "Savage must have more information than we do. He just used our research to supplement his own."

Wally felt his hope sag within him, disappointed at being so close and then realizing he was still so far away. It didn't matter though. He wouldn't let it bother him, "Then we'll just have to compare our research. We'll have to be close if not finished by then!" He heard Steve chuckle behind him at his optimistic attitude.

Daredevil spoke next, voice low and gravelly like he always had it when in suit, "I think we should have this conversation after the area is properly secured. There are no civilians nearby but they'll start coming back soon."

Wally offered helpfully, "That's Daredevil."

Steve was already on the phone with SHIELD, asking them to come down to Hell's Kitchen and find a way to keep the dimensional hole secured while letting the people get back to their homes and workplaces. He relayed what Fury said, "SHIELD is going to put the helicarrier around the hole and then go invisible. They'll make sure that all commercial, private, and military air vehicles know to go around the spot. We'll be safe to have whatever conversations we want then."

Wally added, "That was Captain America."

There was a moment of silence as everyone tried to take in what was happening. It was hard to believe that this was real. It was hard to believe that this was all really happening. Wally, always one to avoid festering silences, spoke up with a grin, "Hey babe. If you were a molecule, you'd be H2O because I can't live without you. But if you were an element, you'd be Neon because you light up my world."

Her voice was amused and exasperated all at once and she laughed, "You and your attempts at flirting with science."

"I wouldn't say attempts. I'd say my awesome skills at flirting with science." Wally grinned.

"Uh huh." She said back, voice dry with that sarcastic wit that had grated on his nerves when he'd first met her, but was now one of his favorite things about her.

Roy spoke next, "So who's this best friend in the dimension you're in? Should I feel threatened?" His voice was light with humor and the overall joy of the moment, but Wally could hear the undertones of actual worry in his voice. He was genuinely concerned that Wally was going to just dump him because he found someone else to be friends with in this new dimension. Honestly, Wally should have seen this coming because Roy had been self-conscious ever since he found the original Roy that day. He seemed to think that since he was a clone that he didn't deserve the life he had, the friends he had, that he didn't deserve happiness and Jade and Lian. It hurt Wally for his friend to hurt so badly, but there really wasn't anything he could do other than be the best friend he could be and try to show Roy that he deserved everything because he earned it. Superboy wasn't any less human (well, half human, half Kryptonian) because he was a clone. The same went for Roy and he wouldn't listen when anyone told him that. They just had to show him. And they would.

Wally smiled softly, "Nah man. You, me, Robin, Spiderman, and Human Torch can all be tight together. We'll be the Fabulous Five. It'll be great."

Dick said, "Who calls himself the Human Torch?"

At the same time, Peter and Roy spoke in unison, "We aren't calling ourselves fabulous." There was a moment of stunned silence before Dick and Wally burst out laughing. The two were already saying things in unison. Wally had a feeling that some of Roy's reservations just went away. If they could work out travel between the dimensions, Peter and Roy were definitely going to be great friends. Although Johnny and Roy might get on better. Peter and Dick would be best buddies too. It would be amazing.

Wally answered with a laugh in his voice, "He calls himself the human torch because he can literally set his entire body on fire. And fantastic is already taken by the Fantastic Four. Furious Five makes us sound like we're a bunch of murderers on a spree or something. Can you think of another f word that we could use?" He paused for a moment before tacking on at the end, "Another f word that you would feel comfortable using around Lian."

Roy whistled slightly, "That's a low blow. And besides, Jade swears enough around Lian that it doesn't matter if I do it or not. Lian just finds it funny."

Dick's voice was amused as he asked, "Your kid finds it funny when your girlfriend swears?"

Wally could hear the slight frown in Roy's voice when he answered seriously, "My kid finds it funny when my girlfriend kills people. I think it's better if she finds swearing humorous."

Uncle Ollie's voice came next, "When did Lian see Cheshire kill someone?"

"When we found Arsenal." Roy answered easily.

"You brought your baby along with you to storm a heavily guarded research center?" Green Arrow asked incredulously.

Roy growled, "We didn't have anyone to watch over her. We hadn't told anyone about her yet. She wasn't hurt or anything!"

Wally raised an eyebrow at the bickering that was a lot more civil than the last time he heard them. He knew that the two of them had gotten a little closer throughout the whole Arsenal ordeal, but he hadn't realized that they'd gotten this close. Maybe they were just happy and didn't want to ruin the moment, but he hoped that wasn't the only reason. They deserved to be on friendly terms again.

Steve cleared his throat "Sorry to interrupt, but the helicarrier just went around the hole and is closing the doors now. We'll be back in just a moment, but we have to get up to the helicarrier first."

Uncle Clark responded easily, "Talk to you soon then."

DDDDDD

Damian was ecstatic (no, not ecstatic, just mildly amused) about the whole situation. Wally was right there. They just had an entire conversation with Wally and he was still making lame jokes and being way too happy for the world he lived in. There were people there taking care of him and making sure that he had someone to talk to, to live with, to fight with which were all things that Wally needed. And the knowledge that he was safe and sound where he was currently located was enough to soothe some of the itching worry and frustration Damian had been feeling when he realized that Wally was stuck in a different dimension without his family there to protect him like they'd done their best to do since the day they adopted him years and years ago. Colin came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, leaning up on his tiptoes and kissing him on the nose. Damian smiled and caught one of Colin's hands in his own, lightly brushing his lips over the knuckles. The group was mostly silent as they waited for the people from the other dimension to get onto the… helicarrier. Whatever that was.

Artemis was smiling hugely, hugging M'gann and Zatanna and Rocket and talking to them in low, excited tones. It was a scene that most people hadn't seen for a while and they were glad to see it now. Ever since Wally was declared dead, Artemis had been different; colder and more distant and so much sadder. Even Damian had been able to tell the difference, something he normally was not good at. But now she was happy again, reconnecting with her old friends. Damian had even heard talk that she was planning on changing from Tigress back to Artemis in celebration of Wally's return. It was kind of romantic.

Father was wearing his 'I'm overjoyed and hard-pressed not to show it but still trying to maintain my Batman scowl of pure terror' scowl which told Damian that he was probably more happy about this turn of events than anyone else in the room. Batman was stood brooding off to the side, but there were occasional glimpses of Bruce in the nervous shift from one foot to the other and the small, quick as the Flash, smiles he sent to his children.

Tim was with Beast Boy, the two of them catching up, probably reminiscing about their Teen Titans days as they waited for Wally's voice to sound out again. It was so frustrating to be able to hear him, but not be able to see him. Damian wondered if that was how Wally felt every day. How frustrating would that be? Nightwing knew that he wouldn't have been able to stand it.

Dick and Roy were standing together and talking about something or another; although, the mischievous grins they wore made the eldest Wayne think that maybe they were planning a prank for Wally's arrival; whenever that would be. He knew that the two of them had been just as worried as Artemis about being replaced. They thought that he'd have found new best friends and it seemed like he kind of did, but they were too stupid to realize that the new friends weren't to replace them, but to join them. Family and friendship meant everything to Wally after so many years of being denied it. He would never willingly give up on familial ties or a friendship or a relationship. He would just expand his already so, so big heart to put the new people in. None of them would be replaced.

The rest of the Team was standing in a little flock surrounding Aqualad and Superboy who were talking to each other about swimming for some reason. The two were strange friends, but maybe that was why the other members of the Team surrounded them like that and stuck by them in the face of so many bigger, more famous, more accomplished heroes. Their friendship was something that said, hey, if we can be friends than anyone can. They had such different personalities – calm when there was rage, smiles where there were scowls, but they were still the greatest of friends. Damian couldn't help but feel that perhaps Wally had more to do with the formation of that friendship than others thought. Damian couldn't help but feel that Wally had more to do with the formation of every friendship than others thought. He was always trying to get everyone he loved to be friends and make connections. That was why he had been so broken apart when Green Arrow and Red Arrow had parted ways. And then when Arsenal didn't want anything to do with Green Arrow after being recovered.

The Justice League were in another clump, Flash practically vibrating with joy and the others just looking at him with indulgent smiles that said that they too were excited about what was going on. But Damian could also read the tight, worried lines of Barry's face that told him that he was worried about something. Damian assumed it was something to do with Wally going into the Speed Force. The younger speedster had seemed to gloss over it quickly, evidently not wanting to deal with that, but it obviously worried Barry and, when Damian looked, Bart as well. Damian wasn't sure why it was such a big deal, but apparently it was something more important to speedsters. He'd ask Wally later, when he got back.

Jinx and Bart were holding hands again, fingers interlocked and arms swinging between the two of them. They got back together again. Their on again off again relationship was more complicated to keep up with than even Drake and Brown's. Maybe now that Wally was coming back they'd do better. Damian knew that Jinx loved Wally as an older brother (despite him being younger than her, significantly so now) and that she always thought of him as her favorite hero because of all the things he did to save her, to bring her into this hero world where she finally found a home and a family. She had been devastated when he 'died'. It was hard for her to move on from his memory. Bart as well was devastated. Apparently Wally had still been alive during his time. Apparently Wally hadn't died trying to destroy the MFD. None of that had happened and although it changed the future for the better, Bart still couldn't help feeling that it was entirely his fault that Wally died. If he hadn't come back and changed the past, it wouldn't have gone down that way. Damian had actually heard a fight or two between them where they argued about that. Damian believe that the two were too hung up on Wally's memory that they couldn't move forward in their own relationship. And now he sounded like some mushy girl. Ridiculous.

The couple was talking with Jason, apparently bonding over former villainy or something foolish like that. Jason was casually leaning against a desk, obviously displaying himself for anyone who might be interested. He was always trying to pick up someone no matter where he went. But Damian (unfortunately) knew Todd well enough to see the tight lines of tension in his body, belaying his nervousness. He could read the predator stance that told him that Todd was furious that they hadn't warned Wally about Zoom in time, that this Loki person had hurt him. But Red Hood wouldn't act on it until he got to see, to smell, to feel Wally, until Wally was right there in front of them for the first time in eight months.

And then, suddenly, there was a voice coming out of the dimensional hole, but it wasn't the one they were hoping for. The voice, tight with tension and recognizable as the one Wally had called Captain America, said, "Wally won't be able to talk to you for a little bit. The Council has ordered his arrest."


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally can win anyone over.

DDDDDD

The silence that permeated the room was thick, palpable almost in its simmering rage. There was a coiled, predatory danger swirling around the Watchtower room as the heroes gathered there tried to take in what this Captain America person said. Wally had been arrested. He'd been arrested by some Council. What was this Council and who did they think they were? Wally had apparently just saved them from Professor Zoom, someone who would have devastated their unprepared heroes. And now they were arresting him? Looking around the room revealed that the others heroes were thinking along the same lines. Dick glanced at his adopted father when the older hero started talking, voice dangerously low and growl deep, "He's been what?"

Another voice, just as low and angry and growling, replied, "He's been arrested. I would have thought that'd have been obvious the first time around." Dick was pretty sure Wally had called this one Daredevil. What kind of name was that even?

Robin watched as Batman's cowl shifted, showing that he was narrowing his eyes. It was obvious he was not amused by this Daredevil person. He was also obviously upset about Wally being arrested in the first place. They had been so close! Batman growled, "What is the Council?"

A female voice responded, cold and emotionless, "The Council is a group of men and women world-wide who aim to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achieve world peace." A few people bristled in the background and Dick just hoped that the whole thing wouldn't turn into an interdimensional fight.

Another voice, male and almost metallic sounding (it kind of reminded Robin of Red Tornado) snorted derisively and commented, "What Black Widow means to say is that they're a bunch of stuck-up old people with too much power and annoying attitudes."

Superman coughed lightly and said, "And you would be?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm Tony Stark, genius billionaire playboy philanthropist. Also known as Iron Man. I made myself a robotic suit of armor that's actually kind of amazing and now I kick bad guy butt and look awesome at the same time. And who would you be?" The voice responded, losing its metallic quality halfway through with a small hissing sound. Based on his words, he probably took off his helmet or the face part of his 'robotic suit of armor'.

Batman's voice was completely unamused (probably because he was also a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist) when he spoke over Superman's reponse, "How do you get them to release him?"

Captain America's voice took over then, responding politely, "We're not sure. Director Fury – he's the head of SHIELD which is the program that put together the Avengers Initiative which is the team of superheroes most of us are a part of – he's trying to get them to let Wally go right now."

Flash butted in quickly, "How did they even catch him? Do you guys have some sort of inhibitor collars? If you're putting an inhibitor collar on him…" Flash didn't finish the threat, but everyone in the room saw him vibrating dangerously. Even if they couldn't see him, his voice was dark enough to scare pretty much anyone. Batman had nothing on an angry speedster.

A new voice, male again, threw in, "Loki had, uh, made some cuffs for him when – when he'd kidnapped Wally and, well, SHIELD did cleanup when he rescued Wally and they, um, I guess they don't like to waste opportunities, so they kept them. I'm not sure how they work, but they keep him from escaping. I'm not sure what an inhibitor collar is…. I'm Dr. Bruce Banner by the way. I think Wally introduced me as the Hulk." He sounded kind of meek, but Dick could hear the undertones of intelligence and he could read the threat in the name Hulk.

Flash frowned deeply but still said, "Nice to meet you. I'm Flash by the way. Mr. Always-Grumpy-Because-His-City-Attracts-Maniacs is Batman and the Boy Scout who asked who Iron Man was is Superman." Batman's scowl intensified, but Barry seemed blissfully ignorant of it (as he seemed most times Batman glared at him), still facing the dimensional hole even though he couldn't see the people on the other side of it. Zatanna and Doctor Fate along with Captain Atom and Oracle were currently working on rectifying that problem. That would be the first step towards dimensional travel. Superman nodded respectively to the dimensional hole before realizing that, once again, they couldn't see him. He frowned and glanced around him to see if anyone noticed. He would have seen that no one was looking at him, but he didn't know that Dick was already working on hacking into the security feed to get that video to keep. One never knew when they might need some blackmail. It wasn't the best quality, but it would do.

Dick was brought back to the present conversation when Captain America's voice came back through the dimensional hole, "The Avengers are being called into a meeting to talk about Wally. We'll get him out, I promise."

Jason sneered in the background, "Don't make promises you can't keep."

Bart piped up helpfully, "That's Red Hood! And I'm Impulse."

Captain America seemed to ignore, plowing on with his explanation, "Daredevil and Spiderman will stay here since they're not Avengers. I don't know how long it will take. I assume you have some sort of communication set up so that you don't need to keep people there the entire time. You can just contact them when we come back."

Batman opened his mouth to say something, but Superman spoke first, sending his friend a withering (well, as withering as Superman could manage) look, "We do. It shouldn't take long to gather us back together again. We wish you good luck with your meeting."

"Thank you." Captain America responded respectively before there was the sound of multiple people leaving the room.

There was another moment of awkward silence before the voice Wally had earlier identified as Spiderman commented slowly, "So… I'm going to go over to the Baxter building and let the Fantastic Four know what's going on. Wally and I kind of promised Johnny that we'd keep him more informed now. So… I might come back soon? I might end up coming back with them. I'll… see you then Daredevil. And I'll talk to you other dimension people later." And then another set of footsteps walked out of the room, leaving one person.

For a long time, silence reigned, neither group willing to break the fragile moment between them. There was nothing any of them could do. This decision wasn't in their hands.

WWWWWW

Wally rested his head back against the wall of his cell. He was furious that SHIELD had kept these stupid cuffs and that they'd taken note of the fact that a cold room made it harder for him to start vibrating. That was why he was currently chained to the wall, freezing and exhausted. He'd spent the last half hour (at least, it felt like half an hour, but with a speedster's internal clock one never really knew) trying to go destabilize the molecules in the wall and get them to explode, but he hadn't been able to build up enough speed to do it because he was just so cold. Now he was exhausted. He figured that if he wasn't out by tomorrow, he'd try melting the wall with friction caused by the vibrations of his hands. Maybe that would work. No matter what, though, he was going to get out of this stupid cell as soon as possible. He'd just found his family for the first time in months and now he was being taken away from them. From what Fury had said right before he locked the glass door to his cell, the director had been doing his best to stop the Council from arresting him since he first made his debut as Kid Flash. Apparently he was 'dangerous' because they'd never dealt with a speedster before.

And yeah, maybe Kid Flash couldn't really fault them for that at the moment. He'd just killed Reverse Flash. Or, at least, as good as killed him. He certainly wasn't going to be coming back any time. So maybe he didn't have any right to complain. He was dangerous. He did deserve this. He made the mistake and now he had to man up and take the consequences. He was a murderer, a monster. It was better if he was in this cell. It would be better if he stayed in this cell where he couldn't… couldn't kill people anymore. The world was better off without him out there causing damage.

And yet there was a part of his mind that told him that he was being stupid. It was self defense. And besides, he wasn't doing anyone any good in this cell. He was a hero and the world needed him to help defend people from criminals and super villains. His family was waiting for him back in his home dimension, missing him terribly and beyond excited for his return. How could he possibly leave them like that? He'd be hurting so many of them if he never came home. But then, was it worth it? Was making just those heroes happy worth the chance that Wally would lose control of his speed and pull someone else into the Speed Force? The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few, right? So why was he being so selfish in wanting his family to get that moment of happiness when he returned? Why did he think that just these few were worth more than whomever he inevitably pulled into the Speed Force?

Maybe because family was everything. He was nine before he ever understood what family was. He'd never realized all the subtle inflections that word could hold. He never realized that his biological aunt and her husband, his adopted father and siblings, his best friends, his girlfriend and her mom, his adopted father's friends, his villains even could all fall under that broad category of 'family' and that he could feel so much love for all of them. So many different kinds of love to familial to platonic to romantic. In his house from birth until seven and then the orphanage from seven to nine, he'd only heard the word love used by other people talking about other families. Never his. And now he had so many people he was so very proud and overjoyed to call family and he was trapped in this cell awaiting judgment while they were in a different dimension, waiting for him to come home. How could he possibly think that he was meant to be in this cell when he had that waiting for him? Batman and Flash had said that it wasn't a problem. It was self-defense and he'd made sure that no one else got hurt. He was being a hero and he lost control of his speed. That was all that happened. It wasn't murder.

Even if it was, though, Wally felt that he should be judged in his own dimension by his family, by the people who actually knew Eobard Thawne and couldn't just rely and his say-so. So even if he was condemned a murderer by these people whose heroes kill wherever they go, he wouldn't believe them. He wouldn't condemn himself until his family says the words. Until they call him a murderer, a monster, a menace, a freak, he wouldn't believe it.

Resolve in mind, Wally let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, and relaxed fully against the wall. Time would tell what his next move would be and a speedster had all the time in the world.

SSSSSS

Steve sat near the center on one side of the table, facing the Council who were holographically displayed on the other side. On his immediate left was Director Fury and then Barton, Stark, and Banner. On his right was Romanov and then Thor. There was s palpable tension in the room as everyone paused, waiting for someone else to start speaking. Fury had instructed them all to not speak unless spoken to, but Steve knew it was only a short matter of time before that rule was broken by someone (cough, Stark, cough) and the meeting spiraled out of control. He was hoping that it wouldn't come to that, but with this group of rag-tag heroes, one never knew. Fury spoke first, "We would like you to release Wally West from imprisonment." That was one thing Steve wasn't sure about. He knew for certain that there were SHIELD agents guarding Wally's cell and that there were SHIELD agents who captured him originally. He also knew for certain that Fury wanted Wally to be let go. So why didn't Fury just order the agents who were under his command to let Wally go? Did the Council have agents who worked for them? Agents who reported to them first and then to Fury? It was probably the same agents who were willing to enact a nuclear strike on New York during the fight with the Chitauri there.

Steve clued back into the conversation when one of the Councilmen answered. He actually wasn't certain of their names. He wasn't sure he really cared either. The Councilman said, "You can let him go if he goes through a threat assessment test and the results come back as not a threat. He's shown that he is more than capable of causing a lot of trouble and we cannot in good conscience simply let him go without first assessing him."

"Why not?" Tony asked moodily, feet on the table and hands behind his head, pulling out the confident billionaire like he always did when he was frustrated with a situation. Steve saw Fury giving him an angry glare.

The Councilwoman took over, voice smooth with practiced ease, "The only mechanisms we currently have that we know for certain will contain his powers are chains that were created by a known villain. He is obviously more loyal to this other dimension than he is to the one he is currently in; there's no telling what he would do to get home. Then there is the matter of his extreme power and his training. He managed to keep his identity as Kid Flash a secret while he worked in a SHIELD facility for months and then lived with the Avengers for weeks. The identity he hacked into existence was enough to satisfy even SHIELD background searches. He managed to escape a SHIELD vessel without anyone noticing he was gone. When he, moments ago, fought the man he called 'Reverse Flash', he circumnavigated the world in just over four seconds. The property damage he caused during that run alone numbers in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The shock waves caused by his running lead to destroyed pavement, shattered windows, broken buildings, destroyed cars. He was lucky that no one got hurt in his rampage. We also have no idea where the Reverse Flash went. We don't know if we can trust his word when he says that the Reverse Flash is now in the… 'Speed Force'."

And, as awful as it was, Steve could see where they were coming from. And from the expressions of dawning horror on the faces of his teammates, they could see it to. That wasn't to say that they didn't believe in Wally and it wasn't to say that they thought he was going to become a villain or something. Everything the Council was saying was ridiculous, but from the perspective of someone who didn't know Wally, it really wasn't that farfetched. All of those allegations were perfectly normal things to worry about. It was a ridiculous way of dealing with it though. The simple thing to do was to just talk to him about it. Or at least talk to the Avengers first. They wouldn't have had to arrest him and take him away from his family at a crucial moment. They were monsters to so casually ruin what should have been the perfect reunion. He voiced his thoughts, "Just talk to him then! You don't have to interrogate him or lock him up in some cell of yours. He's a hero and he's been working hard to save this dimension since he got here. He didn't hesitate to start saving people even though he didn't know a single one of them. You have no right to judge him when you don't know him!" He felt more than heard Fury sigh beside him, obviously cursing whomever it was who chose to bring the Avengers into this meeting.

A different Councilman than earlier spoke up, face creased in a frown, "There would be no way to ascertain whether he was telling the truth or not if we 'just talked to him about it' as you say. He must be thoroughly interrogated."

There was silence as everyone took in her words before Thor's eyes brightened, "Do you trust Captain America to tell you the truth?"

"Why is this relevant?" The woman asked, seemingly ruffled by the sudden change in topic. Steve was a little confused as well. Why did it matter?

Thor smiled brightly and said, "If you trust Captain America to tell the truth, then he can stay in here while you talk to Wally and he can listen to Wally's heartbeat. If it increases in rate, he's lying, right? Then Steve can tell you and you will know if the young warrior is telling the truth or not."

The first man who spoke tilted his head in thought, an unreadable expression decorating his face, "I don't find any reason to oppose this idea."

The woman glanced at his hologram incredulously, shaking her head further when she saw the contemplative expressions on the others' faces. Steve was elated. This was the perfect idea! All Wally had to do was tell the truth and they'd be fine. And Wally had said that he wanted to tell the truth from now on. They couldn't refuse this chance. The man who hadn't spoken yet asked clearly, "All in favor of… Thor's idea please raise your hand now." Tony and Thor both stuck one hand in the air, either not realizing that it wasn't meant for them (in Thor's case) or not caring (in Tony's case). Everyone on the Council but the woman raised a hand before she too delicately placed one in the air, wearing a greatly displeased expression. Steve just grinned.

The Avengers stood from the table as one, charged with the task of bringing Wally back to the room they were currently in. They'd commence the conversation as soon as possible.

It didn't take group long to get to Wally's cell eager as they were to get him free. Steve's heart broke a little at the sight they were met with. Wally's head was leaned against the wall, his sunglasses nowhere in sight. His poor, mangled eyes stared sightlessly at a spot near the ceiling. He was wearing a prisoner's garb, his ring missing from his hand and the baggy white short-sleeve top and long pants hanging off him like he was a child trying on his dad's clothes. Steve saw his hand flicker quickly to where his pocket normally was before settled back on his lap, still encumbered by the heavy chains.

Either he was ignoring them, or they had done something to make sure that he couldn't hear past the walls of his containment cell because Wally never made a move while they walked up to the door, Natasha entering in the password with deft, quick strokes. The speedster did hear when the door started sliding open, however, because he finally lifted his head, tilting it towards the group coming in. Steve smiled at the young hero even though he knew he couldn't see it, saying, "Come on Wally. You've got an appointment with the Council. They just want to talk to you. If you just tell the truth, it'll be fine and they'll let you go, alright?"

"Seriously?" Wally grinned, pushing up from the wall and almost over balancing. Natasha caught him quickly, her hands hovering for a moment. Wally answered her unasked question anyways, "I'm fine, just a little tired."

"Haven't they been feeding you enough?" Stark inquired, brow furrowing, a dark expression flitting across his features.

"Yeah, it's fine. I just overworked myself a little bit, but it's fine. Everything's all good. Plus, it was cold and I don't do well in the cold." Wally rambled, stumbling a little bit as they guided him out of the room.

Clint snorted, "Don't be nervous, kid. You'll do fine."

Steve had the feeling that Wally would have been rolling his eyes if he could, but the speedster settled on sending Clint an droll expression that told him that he wasn't as amusing as he thought he was. Steve just smiled and set his hand on Wally's back, gently guiding him. He was sure that Wally was skilled enough to get around without his cane or the echolocation device in his goggles, but he still didn't want the teen to get hurt. Banner voiced his thoughts when he frowned, "Surely they could have left you your cane or your glasses. It's not like they're weapons."

Wally's small, guilty grin and quiet silence made Clint laugh incredulously, "Are you serious? They aren't actually weapons, are they?"

"Well, you can always use a walking stick to clobber someone, but I've also got a sword hidden in mine. And my glasses have an echolocation device in them so I can run faster, so that could be considered a weapon. There are a couple of other cool options that are definitely considered a weapon, but Aunt Talia wouldn't give me a gift if I couldn't use it to fight someone." Wally answered seriously, heart not even giving the tiniest of a flutter to denote a lie (Steve hadn't taken the time to really listen to Wally's heartbeat; he was only now realizing just how fast it really went).

Thor asked from slightly behind them, "This… Aunt Talia seems like a violent woman."

"Man," Clint started, "Don't just call someone's Aunt violent. That's rude."

Thor seemed as if he was about to apologize, a startled and sheepish expression forming on his face, but Wally beat him to it, "Nah, it's all good. She really is a violent person. She's an assassin actually, second in command of the most dangerous group of assassins, the League of Shadows."

Tony muttered, "Your dimension likes the word league a lot."

He was largely ignored as Natasha spoke over his next comment, saying, "You have an aunt who's an assassin and she still gives you gifts?"

"Well, she had a kid with my adoptive father – he's the only one of us who is biologically related to our father – so she's kind of a mother, but that's weird so I think of her as an aunt instead. She's not actually related to me, but she's pretty great actually. I mean, sometimes its awkward when we have to fight because she just, like, killed someone or something, but she's normally pretty good with it if we arrest her. She just escapes and we try again next time. One of my other brothers really hates her kid though so that other brother always invites her to family reunions and holidays to get her kid mad. But normally people aren't stabbed or anything so it's fine."

This time it was Bruce who muttered, "Normally people aren't stabbed?"

This time Natasha couldn't speak over him because they had reached the doors to the room Wally would be having his meeting with the Council in. The Black Widow handed Steve the chains that currently held Wally captive, resting a hand on Wally's should for a second (Steve couldn't help wondering how long it felt for the speedster) before walking off, the rest of the Avengers following reluctantly along, probably heading towards the room with the dimensional hole. Some of them might even be going somewhere they could rest for a little while before they had to talk to Wally's family again.

Gently applying pressure to the small of Wally's back, Steve prodded him forward and into the room. He helped Wally find a seat, playing it up slightly for the benefit of the Council. Perhaps they'd see this poor, blind teenager who just wanted to go home instead of the alleged menace who could do anything with his powers. Wally, finally settled, waved his hand a little bit and said, "Hey, what's up?"

There wasn't the usual round of smiles Wally could get just by opening his mouth. Steve watched as the Council stared at Wally with cold, emotionless faces. Steve wasn't sure it mattered that he was young, blind, and homesick. To them, everything was a danger and nothing had humanity as long as it was a threat. They would neutralize him like he was an enemy missile and not a living, breathing human being with a family and a home and a love waiting for him. One of them men spoke first, "State your full name, your age, and your occupation."

Wally sat up straighter, shifting his head so he was almost facing the right direction before saying, "I am Wallace Rudolph West-Wayne, 14 years old. I am a student and a superhero. Sir."

Steve saw the woman raise an eyebrow as Wally tacked on his nighttime crime fighting as an occupation, but she luckily didn't comment. Steve was just glad that he remembered to add a sir on at the end. The same man who spoke earlier spoke again, "How many years have you been a… superhero?"

Wally's eyebrows scrunched together before he said, "Nine years, sir."

The woman commented this time, glancing sharply at Steve, "You would have had to have been five when you started fighting crime." Steve shook his head, indicating that he hadn't been lying.

Wally explained himself, "I was de-aged when I came to this dimension, ma'am. I was nine when I started fighting crime and I was eighteen when I was transported here, becoming de-aged to age fourteen."

She raised an elegant eyebrow at him, obviously doubting his words. Steve sighed and settled into the rather uncomfortable chairs, predicting a long and undoubtedly boring conversation. As long as it helped Wally, though, he wouldn't complain.

***THREE HOURS LATER***

It wasn't until they were wrapping up the conversation that Steve heard Wally lie. The Council had warmed up to him as much as they could, sending less glares and garnering a more human expression, losing the coldness and pure emotionless expressions they'd worn. One of the councilmen had asked, "Have you ever disregarded your morals during a fight?"

It should have been a simple question, something easy. A simple yes or no. But instead Wally's heartbeat flickered out of pattern, speeding up to the point that Steve had a problem discerning one beat from the next. Wally answered steadily, "No."

Steve frowned heavily, hating what he would have to do next, but doing it anyways, "He's not telling the truth; or, at least, not all of it."

Wally shot him a betrayed expression that seemed almost panicked but definitely guilty before the councilwoman asked sharply, "When have you disregarded your morals?"

The speedster's head bent down with what appeared to be shame and something that could have been concern (but looked so alien on their faces that he couldn't be sure) appeared on the faces of the members of the Council for a brief moment. Then the expression cleared as Wally spoke, "When I fought Professor Zoom, I left my morals behind me. I… I killed him. He's trapped in the Speed Force and I don't think there's any coming back after that point. When I became a hero, I swore to never kill so I wouldn't become like the people I fought to protect other from, but then… then I… killed him." His voice was small at the end, fingers flickering to his pocket and to where his ring normally was, expecting his comfort to be there, but being denied.

There was a moment of silence before the woman said, "You are dismissed. Captain Rogers, bring him back to his cell. We will inform you once we have reached a decision." And that was that. Steve nodded respectively and pulled Wally up, holding onto his chains and hating himself for it.

They turned down a few corridors before Wally tilted his head to the side and said curiously, "This isn't the way we came before. Are you taking me a different way?"

Steve laughed quietly, "They didn't say I had to bring you directly back to your cell. We might as well take a little detour on the way. How did you know we were going on a different path by the way?"

"Good memory." Wally replied distractedly, a blissful expression on his face and a spring to his steps. He'd correctly guessed that he was going to be brought to the room where he could talk to all of his friends through the dimensional hole.

Steve smiled as Wally's face split into a huge grin upon seeing Peter and Johnny waiting there for him. Two more voices spoke through the hole, Wally calling them Robin and Roy. The five kids all seemed to plop onto the ground before they started talking, laughing and gesturing widely, occasionally writing things down and discussing prank ideas. Steve might get in trouble for this trip, but it was worth it to see the way Wally's face lit up surrounded by all of his good friends, sitting there planning out pranks and already figuring out who to do it on even though there was a chance that he wouldn't be able to get home and none of this would work out.

The speedster was always so optimistic, so sure it was going to work out. It was an admirable trait to have and Steve couldn't help but be in awe of the figure sat before him. Captain America didn't know the half of what Wally had been through, but he knew that he'd been through things that would have broken a lot of strong men and yet… Wally didn't break. He didn't take things sitting down and he never gave up the kind, charming spirit that made him such a good hero. He really was like a light, making everyone's world brighter. Maybe it really would all work out.


	24. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's all over! Or is it?

HHHHHH

Hawley had been a member of the World Security Council for a long time. Nothing got past her and she was determined to keep it that way. In her line of work, everything was a danger and dangerous things sometimes called for drastic measures. She never wanted to hurt someone, honestly. She was always doing her best to keep people safe, but the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. She was perfectly willing to release a nuclear missile into the heavily populated New York City if it meant that the world would not be taken over by aliens. Director Fury claimed that she, alongside the rest of the Council, was in the wrong during that case, but she did not believe that to be accurate. It was rather difficult for the Council to trust in a mismatched group of 'heroes' who were made up of a mixture of incredibly dangerous, unstable, powerful people. Some of them couldn't even be called people. And she was expected to trust them to save the world.

So she hadn't trusted them, but they'd managed to save the world and stop the missile from destroying New York anyways and she was willing to admit that she might have been in the wrong. Hawley would never admit that to their faces – to anyone's face, honestly – but she would admit it to herself in the form of a soft spot regarding the Avengers. Well, as much of a soft spot as she could get while still attempting to keep the world safe.

Then came along this new hero – Kid Flash. At first, he was just a blip on their radar, a wanted man in the form of a brown suit, a man captured by the Avengers during the Battle of New York and who escaped captivity from a SHIELD facility. Finding him wasn't a top priority, but it wasn't forgotten either. That is, until Kid Flash appeared. This new 'speedster' was prioritized so much higher than the mystery escape artist and the file disappeared among stacks of paperwork and left to be discovered and followed up on later, possibly years later. Kid Flash with his tornado of fire on his official debut took up the Council's time. They dedicated large portions of several meetings to the crime fighter, but no matter what they did, they couldn't seem to find him. They knew that he was pale and they suspected that he had red hair and that was only because his costume left those things open. There was a chance that the red hair was dyed for purposes of keeping his identity a secret, but there was no way he could dye it and un-dye it quick enough to be considered a legitimate process. So they deemed that he had red hair and pale skin. They figured that he must be a teenager based on his the occasional voice cracks, the name, and the stature, but they weren't certain. With his speed, it was impossible to tell where he was based in New York – if he was even in New York. He could be anywhere in the country in mere moments so it wasn't a stretch to believe that he didn't live in Hell's Kitchen where he primarily worked out of. But then he made it worse by starting to show up in Queens by Spiderman and showing up fighting alongside the Fantastic Four. He always came from a different direction so there was no way to pinpoint his exact area. In the end, he was too good at keeping his identity a secret.

Either way, Hawley liked to believe that they would have found him eventually, but then there was the gigantic mishap at the new SHIELD facility with Loki coming and terrorizing their new part time worker, killing Dr. Knightly. The Council had been worried that the teen, Wally, wouldn't be willing to continue working at SHIELD after the encounter, but it was a needless worry. He didn't seem turned off of the program. The Council had heard only good things from Dr. Knightly about the up and coming blind scientist. They had been hoping to keep Wally Murdock for themselves and make sure that he kept working for SHIELD. He would have been an invaluable asset. Except then there was another fiasco where Loki captured Kid Flash. Who happened to be Wally Murdock. Who happened to come from another dimension.

Hawley and the rest of the Council had let sleeping dogs lie for a while, waiting the situation out, but then came along this Reverse Flash figure that was defeated minutes after entering this dimension by Wallace Rudolph West-Wayne. The very same person who circumnavigated the world in under five seconds. It was preposterous. It was awe-inspiring. It was a danger that needed to be gotten rid of. So Hawley, along with the rest of the Council, had ordered Kid Flash's arrest. It was a rather simple thing to do honestly – mainly because they had the element of surprise. He was quickly taken care of and they were deciding on an interrogation technique when they'd interfered. The Avengers. They wanted the Council to let Wally go. Which was ridiculous. Except… except the other Council members seemed to be considering it. They seemed to believe that there was merit in letting this child out into the world where he could easily hurt people. They had caught him by surprise earlier, but he didn't seem like the kind of person to be tricked like that twice. So they would be up against an opponent like they'd never faced before. They didn't know a speedster's weaknesses! They didn't know how to take him down. The only viable option Hawley saw was capturing Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson and holding them hostage, but they would have to go through Daredevil first – another crime fighter they knew nothing about. He was notoriously protective of Hell's Kitchen and he was notoriously protective of his sidekick. Taking his sidekick's family out of Hell's Kitchen to get said sidekick to do what they wanted? Probably not a good idea. Also, there was a chance that Kid Flash would tell Spiderman and the Fantastic Four about the issue and they seemed just as protective of him as Daredevil. Honestly, was there no sane person out there to realize just how dangerous this child was?

But then Hawley talked with him. She spent three hours interrogating him with Captain America watching for lies. And he seemed (dare she think it)… sweet. His eyes were still uncovered and he wavered a few times, trying to catch his breath, obviously exhausted. How could he not be after fighting Reverse Flash and trying so hard to escape the cell (yes, they did have cameras trained on him; they weren't stupid)? So her own resolve wavered in the face of such a young hero, obviously just wanting to go home and be with his family, but willing to do anything to help the friends he made here. And somehow the entire world fits into his designation of friends. He would fight for Hawley's dimension simply because he had these magnificent powers and was not willing to sit back and let people die when they don't have to. It was commendable to say the least. And thus she was here now, talking it over with the people around her, with the other Council members. What should they decide? Should they let him go or keep him captive? Or should they keep him prisoner while they worked on a way of sending him home, only freeing him at the last moment? There were so many ways to do this and not a lot of time to choose. Thanks to the interrogation, she was now painfully aware that he had a family waiting eagerly for him to return home. They'd been waiting for over eight months. Was it really fair to keep them waiting? Did it matter how fair it was if her world was kept safe?

Resolve in mind, Hawley delved back into the discussion at hand. She would do her best to sway the other Council members to her line of thinking. She knew what she wanted and she would get it. For the good of the world.

LLLLLL

Loki knew that the cell directly next to his held the young warrior he had sworn to protect. He could see Wally through the clear walls of their cells, but he knew that Wally could not see him. Nor could he sense that Loki was there. Whomever had built these cells had prepared for all eventualities including making sure that anyone with enhanced sense would not be able to know what went on around them. They were sound proofed and scent proofed and who knew what else proofed. All that really mattered to Loki was that he couldn't comfort Wally at this moment when the child needed comfort. There had been a brief period after returning to his cell where he seemed elated, apparently having visited his friends from the other dimension. But then the excitement had worn off and, evidently believing that he was alone, Wally had let his shoulders slump and his head fall back, a despondent expression creeping across his face. The child was not as resilient as the others seemed to think, bouncing back from everything with a wide smile and a joyful laugh. He still felt pain and worry and fear, just not around others. He never wanted to worry others with his own problems.

Scowling to himself, Loki went back to the problem at hand. He needed to find a way to make Wally happy again, not wax poetic on the speedster's character. Thinking for a while, he finally came up with a spell that would get past the incredibly powerful anti-enchanting cuffs from Asgard that currently adorned his wrists. Whispering a small spell and allowing his magic to seep out of him, he grinned when he saw Wally visibly startle in the cell next to his. Loki knew that the red haired child would be hearing his love's voice and that the two would end up talking about something nonsensical like all youngsters do nowadays. It was no mere illusion, just simply a small warp portal created to take a portion of the dimensional hole and send it to Wally's cell. All in all, a difficult spell that left him drained (especially as he performed it through the anti-magic cuffs), but well worth the smile that split the speedster's face as he started to talk animatedly, arms swinging around and torso leaned forwards to give the speaker an idea of close attention. They couldn't see each other, but it seemed as if Wally didn't care. It was rather endearing to watch how the child had lit up so totally at the sound of his love's voice. How romantic.

Leaning back in his cell in a position that allowed him to watch as Wally smiled and laughed and grinned, Loki felt his own lips curl up in a genuine smile as well. The speedster was such a brave child – a brave warrior – and Loki would protect him. For once in his life he would put someone else ahead of himself. It felt surprisingly good.

PPPPPP

Peter had been nervous when Wally had left, the Avengers saying that they were going to go find their rooms on the helicarrier, ordering that someone call them in case of an emergency. Daredevil had slunk off of the aircraft probably to get a little bit of sleep and let Foggy know what was going on. So that left Johnny and Peter (the rest of the Fantastic Four had been called away on a small mission, assuring the Human Torch that they would be fine without him and that he should be there for his friend) with Robin and Roy who seemed to be some of the only people left in the room they'd built around the dimensional hole in Antarctica in their dimension. It was disconcerting to talk to someone without actually seeing them, but had gotten easier as time had passed. But then they'd had Wally there to join the two dimensions together and keep them talking and interested. Now he was back in his cell and his friends were left to awkwardly flounder for words. Luckily (or unluckily) Roy decided to talk first, his words coming through the dimensional hole in front of them, "He's been happy, right? Overall he's been happy in that dimension."

Spiderman answered, throat dry, "Yeah. He misses you guys all the time, but it hasn't been unbearable for him here. He has friends and a family here."

Robin's voice was oh so sad when he said, "You don't think he likes it too much there, do you? You don't think he'd rather stay?"

Johnny's voice held the same sad note when he answered, "Nah dude, he loves you guys too much. I mean, he loves us too, but you guys are his everything. I think he'll be devastated if he can't come back and visit though. I don't think he wants to just go back to your dimension and let bygones be bygones and forget about us."

Roy's voice was hard, but understanding, "He might have to."

"I know." Johnny's voice had gone small and sad again, already missing one of his best friends.

"Look," Robin started, "we don't know anything for sure yet. If Wally was here, he'd say that it'd all work out and then he'd smile that annoyingly cheerful smile of his and everything really would work out."

"You're one to talk about an annoyingly cheerful smile, Robin." Roy threw back sarcastically. Robin honest to goodness cackled in response and both Peter and Johnny jumped because that was creepy. Wally had told them about his older brother's creepy laugh, but there's a difference between hearing about it and actually hearing it.

There was a companionable pause in response before Robin's voice came over again, a smirk evident in his tone, "You guys want to hear some asterous stories about Wally when he was little? Well… littler?"

Johnny mouthed the word asterous to Peter in confusion. Peter, for his part, just shrugged his bony shoulders and turned back to the dimensional hole, grinning and saying, "Definitely."

CCCCCC

When Clint and the other Avengers returned with the Fantastic Four and a still sleepy (aka incredibly grumpy) Daredevil in tow, they were just in time to hear the tail end of a story. The person identified as Robin was cackling, "And then Wally landed in thirty thousand pounds of bananas. Grodd was so horrified at his stupidity that he didn't even try to escape. He just sat there shaking his head and wondering where that many bananas even came from. It was the best."

Steve announced quietly, "I don't even want to know."

Tony responded with a grin, "I do."

Peter scoffed at them, "No way, you don't get to know. These stories are for best-friend ears only. No others may receive them because only best friends may use them as blackmail." There was a sound of assent coming from the other side of the dimensional hole (DH as Clint just dubbed it), sounding deep and older, probably the Roy person who was talking with them earlier.

Robin cackled again and said, "I'm totally bringing that Green Goblin story up the next time I see him. He's going to freak out."

Johnny laughed, "Just make sure that I'm not within the vicinity. He'll be so mad that I told you guys." Truth be told, Clint was actually getting pretty curious as to what these stories were about. He was also starting to feel a little bad for Wally when he got out of the cell and talked to his friends again. Because he would get out of the cell. Clint ignored the tiny voice that said that it sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

Tony's voice was amused and more than a little curious when he asked nonchalantly, "So, tell us about yourselves, maybe a little bit about your world."

Robin's voice was a little suspicious when he asked slowly, "What do you want to know?"

"Oh nothing much, I just want to get to know Wally a little better through his friends. He told us a lot without actually going into much detail. It would be cool to know a little bit more about his dimension." Tony said, shrugging like it was no big deal whether or not they found out, but everyone in the room was leaning forward a little bit, curious about their friend.

Robin's voice came back with a little less suspicion, but it was obvious that his words were thought out before he spoke, "It's a pretty cool place. From what I've heard from Wally, Peter, and Johnny, the earth itself isn't that different. I mean, there are a couple of different countries, but other than that it's not that big of a deal. We don't have Wakanda. And we've got Rhelasia – north and south. And then we've got Bialya and Vlatava – which Wally is actually a knight in. He's got his own land and his own banner and everything. He neglected to tell us that until way later. The day he… the day he disappeared is actually a national day of mourning in that country."

"The… ruler of Vlatava knew who Kid Flash was? Or, Falcon I guess." Invisible Woman amended, tilting her head curiously.

"No. It's not, like Sir Wally West-Wayne. It's Sir Swift I think. I'm pretty sure he was still Swift when he was knighted." Roy answered promptly.

"Who even came up with Falcon? If he wanted a whole big change to his superhero personality, you'd have thought that he'd pick something like Kid Flash earlier. I mean, he just went from one bird to the next." Clint commented idly. Mind, he didn't have anything against birds, it was just something that he'd wondered.

He could hear the smile in Robin's voice when he answered, "I'm pretty sure it was Jinx who came up with it."

Natasha's voice was almost amused when she questioned, "Jinx?"

Tony added on with, "Is this an ex that we haven't heard about?"

Robin cackled again (that was seriously creepy, how did he even do that?) and said, "The only girlfriend Wally ever had was Artemis and they're still dating. I'm not sure Wally even had a crush on anyone before that. It's kind of sickening in how cute it is. Jinx was a villain who Wally stopped from robbing this museum. She thought of the name Falcon while they were talking. They ended up seeing each other again and Wally got Jinx a place on the Young Justice team. Only Wally could turn villains into heroes that easily. I mean, the amount of times that his villains decide to help out the good guys 'just this once' is ridiculous. Then again, it takes a lot to say no to two speedsters." Robin finished off, his voice calculating.

"What are his villains like?" Steve asked curiously, finding himself a seat and settling down in it, his head tilted to the side. Clint couldn't help thinking that he looked like a golden retriever. He barely kept in his snort of amusement, but Natasha still gave him a strange look.

Roy was the one who answered that time, "They're ridiculous. On the one hand, I hardly think they count as criminals – they don't do human trafficking or anything related to it, they don't do drug trafficking or anything related to it, and they don't kill. On the other hand, fighting against them is surprisingly difficult. Green Arrow, Black Canary, and I were watching out for Central while Flash and Wally were helping the Green Lanterns out in space and the Rogues, those are Wally's villains, decided to do a team attack. We barely held them off long enough for Wally and Flash to get back. They can move fast. I mean, they fight speedsters day in, day out without increased speed of their own so they've gotta get used to moving fast, but it's still ridiculous."

"So his villains are just the Rogues?" Mr. Fantastic (Clint still thought that was a stupid name) asked curiously.

"No," Robin answered, "The other main ones are Reverse Flash who… well, you know and then there's Zoom. He's a different Zoom than the one you guys saw Wally face. It's kind of confusing. Zoom has super speed but apparently there's something a little different about his speed or something like that. And then there's Grodd who's an evil, telepathic gorilla. He sucks."

Tony choked a little on whatever he was drinking (where did he even get that from?) and asked incredulously, "Telepathic gorilla? You have evil gorillas?"

There was a slight frown in Robin's voice as he answered, "Yeah, quite a few actually. There's Gorilla Grodd, then there's the Ultra-Humanite. He can transfer his mind into others'. Then there's Monsieur Mallah who's the super intelligent talking gorilla sidekick of the Brain. Titano the Super-Ape was shot with radiation in space and could shoot kryptonite rays with his eyes. Then there's Silverback. He's a robotic mercenary gorilla. Jackanapes is a clown gorilla trained by Joker." Everyone ignored the growl in Robin's voice when he said the name Joker. He continued, "Giganta was an ape that turned into a woman. I don't really know a lot about her. Then there's Pyremaul. He's a talking Nazi vampire gorilla." There were a few disbelieving scoffs on that one. Robin just kept going, "There are good ones too. I mean, there's most of Gorilla City led by Solovar. There's Tolifhar who used to be bad until Wonder Woman convinced him to be good. Sam Simeon is another psychic gorilla. We think he's related to Grodd somehow, but he's a good guy. I can't think of any more at the moment, but there are definitely more."

There was a long pause before Clint announced, "That is really sad. You dimension is so much weirder than ours."

Roy laughed a little alongside Robin's cackle and Clint realized that it was the first time he'd heard Roy laugh. What was with that? Peter, Johnny, Robin, and Wally all laughed (cackled) all the time so why wouldn't Roy? Maybe he was just playing the cool older guy. And then silence dropped over the room as Steve lifted his hand for silence, putting a hand to his ear where his comm was. He said, "Yes sir." And then smiled at the surrounding group.

Before the people from the other dimension could ask a question, Daredevil announced emotionlessly, "The Council is letting Wally go. Captain America is to bring him directly here." Over the din of everyone cheering, Clint saw Daredevil wince a little bit and tilted his head. The masked vigilante shouldn't have been able to hear Steve's comm. Did he have a device like Wally had that could hack into other hero comms devices (Tony had been insulted that his devices were able to be hacked)? Or did he have enhanced hearing like Wally? It only took a second for the pieces to connect themselves in his mind and Clint groaned loudly, putting his face in his hands. At Natasha's questioning glance, he just waved it away in a 'tell you later' motion. It was so obvious in hindsight. Daredevil was Matt Murdock. If he had enhanced senses then he could totally fight crime blind just like Wally did. And there was the fact that Murdock was mad at Wally at the same time that Daredevil was. And there was the fact that somehow Matt Murdock knew the same things that Daredevil did at almost the exact same time. And he'd never seen the two of them together despite the fact that they claimed to be friends. Why was it always him that figured out people's secret identities first? At least this time he'd have a legitimate reason for not telling people his discovery. Daredevil probably could win in a fight against him and he was sure that it would take several days for people to find his body in Hell's Kitchen.

Then again, he might be completely wrong. So he whispered low enough that he barely heard himself, "Daredevil is Matt Murdock." And then, lo and behold, Daredevil (who was all the way across the room) whipped his head up and turned his head straight at Clint who stared back balefully. Yep, he was going to die.

Before he could lament on that fact any longer, Wally was ushered into the room, those horrid chains finally off and a bright grin decorating his face. All thoughts of his impending doom were swept from his mind as people started cheering louder, laughing and pounding Wally on the back good-naturedly. He had his cane back and his glasses on and, for that moment at the very least, all was right with the worlds.

WWWWWW

Wally stepped backwards, pulling his arm across his forehead in a weary manner, letting out a heavy puff of breath and rubbing his neck soothingly. Around him he could hear other scientists and engineers doing the same thing. They'd been working for days practically non-stop to get him back to his dimension and the machine was finally finished. To discount for any anomalies, they'd made sure that they had a landing pad at his home dimension so he didn't, like, permanently dissipate or something awful like that. And now… now he had to gather his things together and say goodbye to everyone. This was… this could be his last chance ever talking to them. This could be the last time he'd be with his friends from this dimension. And he had a day to say goodbye. Then it would be take off, back to his own dimension. If everything went well, they'd send him back to this dimension in a month's time and then send him back again to make sure it worked. That would be the ideal situation, but there was a chance that there was only so many times that a dimensional hole could be used before it collapsed and no one wanted him to get stuck in the one without his family. That didn't make saying goodbye any easier.

He said goodbye to the people first, taking out a conflagration of villains before getting the attention of a newscaster and announcing with his usual cheeky grin, "I want to thank New York for being one of the best cities I've ever had the honor of protecting. You guys are great and I want you to keep being great for the rest of the heroes that work so hard to protect you. As for me, well, I'm heading back home. I might not come back and if I do, it won't be for a while. So I wanted to say goodbye and thank you! Stay safe for your speedster, yeah?" And with that, he was racing off, kicking up a storm of wind in front of the cameras, making it so there was no way to even tell which direction he was headed.

He was on his way to the Avengers Tower when he realized that people had already gotten his message. Apparently people all over had seen it and they were flocking to areas he was reported to have been seen. They were coming out in droves to see him off, laughing and cheering and shouting words of encouragement. There were the usual few people who jeered and yelled out insults, but Wally felt like he could let that all go because there were so many people who were willing to take the time out of their days to see him off. There were people who didn't even know his name who would miss him and worry after him every night, wondering if he was getting enough to eat and if he was getting home safely. He could hear it in their fluttering hearts and their caring tones. The people of New York cared about him and were going to miss him greatly, but the people of Central City, of Palo Alto, of his dimension were missing him too and even though he loved New York, his home, his people were somewhere else. So he did a few flips and waved his hands and bought a few people flowers, gone in a burst of wind before anyone could process what happened. All he hoped was that he left New York with something good. He hoped he left an impression that changed NYC for the better.

Smiling secretly to himself, he sped off again, heading straight towards the Tower.

It took him less time than he would have liked to get there partially because he was still weary of running too fast and partially because he wanted to delay saying goodbye as much as possible. Running over the building and vibrating through the locked roof door found him face to face with a startled Clint Barton, hand reaching out for the door, heart beating wildly probably because a person just came out of said door. Then Clint chuckled, moving around him and opening the door, walking out onto the roof and holding the door open long enough that Wally realized that the invitation was for him to join the archer on the roof.

The two settled down next to each other in comfortable silence before Clint announced suddenly, "You know, I don't think I ever told you that I've got a hearing aid in because I really wouldn't be able to hear without it. I'm deaf."

Wally didn't even shift his head to the side, choosing to simply comment, "Huh, you definitely never told me that. I don't actually know all that much about any of you. I mean, I know quite a bit about Tony and Banner because they talk in the lab and don't seem to keep their pasts quite so close to their chests, but the rest of you… I know practically nothing. I'm going to regret that."

Clint's voice was stern in a way Wally had never heard before, sharp and clear and maybe a little bit sad too, "Don't regret it. Use it. Make that just another incentive to find a way to come back. I know there's a chance you won't be able to come back, but… try."

"Clint…" Wally trailed off, not sure how to respond to the pure emotion in that plea.

The archer beat him to it, speaking up suddenly, "Look, how about a deal. You come back and I introduce you to my wife and kids. Only Nat's seen them so far, but I know they'll love you. You can be their, I don't know, Uncle Wally."

Wally laughed, "That's what Jade and Roy tell Lian to call me. They say that I'll make a great Uncle Wally."

"Yeah," Clint agreed, "You'd be a pretty cool uncle."

There was another moment's pause before Wally smiled a small, sad smile and said, "Alright, I agree to the deal. I'd like to meet the woman who can put up with you."

Clint jostled his shoulder in amusement and Wally wished desperately that there was a chance that he could see Clint's face just this once, just to know what it looked like. Clint's voice was sad again as he said, "Go say goodbye to the others kid. Remember our deal, yeah?"

"Yeah. See you around, Clint." Wally nodded, standing slower than usual, forestalling the inevitable moment.

"You too Wally." Clint's voice floated back to him. It seemed as if he'd be staying there for a while. Smiling one last time, a small frozen smile that was oh so small, Wally walked back down the stairs, not knowing whether he really would see him around ever again.

Natasha was in his room, sounding like she was packing all of his belongings into the suitcases he'd left out. He'd put them in his rings when he finally left. He was a pretty materialistic person (hence the souvenir room in Mount Justice) because he'd never been allowed to have much of anything for the first half of his life. When he was finally allowed, expected even, to have whatever he wanted, he'd coveted it and kept things religiously even saving the wrapping paper on gifts. Every little thing that people tell him are his becomes important and reminds him that he's left his horrible childhood behind.

Silently, Wally joins Natasha in her crusade, quietly packing things away and not saying anything. When his fingers brush against an unfamiliar set of clothes or a new weapon, he doesn't say anything, just smiles a knowing smile at Natasha that she doesn't ever verbally acknowledge. They finally finished packing and getting the suitcases into the rings and Wally turned to face this woman who'd become more like a mom than he'd ever experienced. It was a sweet tender moment and neither of them needed to say anything. Natasha wrapped him in a tight hug, pulling him into her warm embrace and kissing the crown of his head like any mother might, pulling him tighter. He didn't say anything about the tears he felt running down her cheek and into his hair and she doesn't say anything about the tears running into her shirt. When they pull apart, Natasha runs a thumb over a lingering tear and whispers two words, "Goodbye Wally."

"Goodbye Natasha." He responded evenly. They stood there for a moment longer before the world blurred familiarly around him. They didn't need anything more. That was goodbye.

He found that his feet had carried him to the kitchen where he startled Steve into dropping whatever he'd been holding. From the sound it made as it hit the ground; it'd been a closed box of cereal. At least it hadn't been open. Steve took a calming breath before bending down, presumably to pick up the cereal. His voice was calm, unhurried, when he said, "Hello Wally. You're finished with the science-y things?"

"Yeah." Wally tried, voice cracking. He cleared it and said again, "Yeah."

"Hey, hey, it's alright. What's wrong?" Steve settled Wally down on one of the couches near the kitchen, his cereal left behind on the counter. He rubbed soothing circles on Wally's back, murmuring soft words of comfort.

Wally took a deep, shuddering breath and said, "I'm going to miss all of you so much."

He heard lashes brushing together and knew that Steve had shut his eyes. Then the lashes brushed past each other again and the man out of time said, "I know how you feel. If I had the chance to go back to my time, to have not been stuck in that ice for so many years, I'd take it instantly. I love everyone here even if some of them get on my nerves sometimes, but there's something different about the people you grew up with, the people who became your friends and family naturally, the same easy way they would with any of your other friends. Here its… anyone you make friends with, anyone you dare to call family is… unnatural. You feel like you were forced on them because of circumstances instead of just meeting them in some random fair somewhere. In your dimension, in my time, we don't have to worry about that. So I would easily go back to that time to be with my family and friends, but I'd miss the people here too. I'd miss them constantly. But I wouldn't regret it. I don't really belong here even though people have done their darnedest to make it feel like I do. So, if I ever got that chance, I'd cherish the connections I made, and the memories, but I wouldn't ever regret it. This is your chance to go back to where you belong. Even though we try our best to make you feel loved and like you belong, you will always feel more loved and a stronger sense of belonging in your own dimension. You'll miss us, but it'll work out. If you can't see us again, then remember us instead. We'll always remember you, Wally." The super soldier's voice was thick with emotion at the end and he coughed slightly to try to get it out of his voice when he said, "Goodbye Wally."

Wally's voice was just as thick with emotion as he said, "Goodbye Steve." And then he was gone again, leaving only a whirlwind in his place.

He found Tony and Banner in the same place – the labs. They were deep into their experiments, not even noticing the sound of the door opening and person stepping through at super speed. Their attempt to block out the world and their problems was painfully obvious, especially to another scientist. He wasn't sure how they were still on their feet after several days experimenting and building in the helicarrier to try to get Wally home, but there they were, fighting away their bodies' begging for sleep, choosing to keep their mind focused on problems that can be fixed, that have a solution. Emotions don't have that kind of end, that kind of finish.

He knew the moment Tony spotted him because the billionaire gave a strangled, startled sound, obviously unprepared for a person to be standing in front of him. It was sadly reminiscent of Clint's reaction minutes earlier. Tony tried to recover, "Wally, my man, what're you doing here? Can't get enough of green rage machine and yours truly?" Banner made a vague, annoyed sound, but didn't seem to be paying attention. Then again, Wally really couldn't tell.

Wally cleared his throat and said bluntly, "I'm here to say goodbye Tony."

"Mm, yeah, no. I don't do goodbyes. I'm too cool for that. Why don't you let my assistant know. I'm sure she likes them more than I do." Tony answered easily, trying for nonchalant and not quite making it.

Wally played along anyways, "You're saying you're cooler than Pepper? I can go ahead and let her know that as well on my way."

Tony's panicked, "Please don't do that! Please! I'll do anything, just don't tell her I said that!"were drowned out by Bruce's bright laughter.

Banner sighed happily, "I'm going to miss you Wally. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Bruce." Wally smiled.

Tony just clucked his tongue and said, "I'm still too cool for goodbyes, but whatever. I guess I'll miss you too. At least, I'll miss your scientific input. That's it. Really. The rest can leave, but you should leave the science parts behind." He continued talking, but Wally didn't really care. He knew what Tony meant. The speedster wrapped his arms around Tony's waist and hugged him. Tony's ministrations stuttered to a stop for a moment before he hesitantly placed his own arms around Wally's back and whispered almost silently, "Goodbye Wally."

Wally answered just as quietly, "Goodbye Tony." His next stop was Thor.

It took longer than it should have to find the thunder god, but Wally eventually found the man in the gym, lightning whirling around the room and the smell of burning plastic and fabric tickled Wally's nose. A thunder clap sounded out and Wally winced, sucking in a breath involuntarily. Apparently that was all it took to get Thor's attention because Wally heard him turn and start walking towards the speedster. When Thor was stopped near him, Wally said right out, "Goodbye Thor, I'll miss you."

"And I you, young warrior. I must ask one more thing of you before you leave though." Thor said, suddenly serious. Wally nodded obligingly and Thor continued, "Please give me your oath that you will not change. When you come back to this dimension I do not want to see a changed spirit stand before me. I understand that you will appear different because the League of Justice is already plotting ideas to turn to back to your natural age, but please do not change how you act. You are the light of many people Wally and I do not wish for that to change."

All Wally could do was nod and accept Thor's bone-crushing hug and his whispered, "Goodbye Wally." The moment he was released, he spun away, leaving the Avengers behind, hopefully not for the last time.

It was only moments later when Wally appeared in the Baxter building, not even out of breath. He skidded to a stop and heard Johnny laughing at him from somewhere near the kitchen area. He was probably leaning against the wall somewhere in there. Sue's voice sounded out first, "Hello sweetie, how are you? You come here for some good home cooking?"

"If you are, you're in the wrong place." Johnny quipped, ducking out of the way as Sue swung something at him (it sounded wooden – maybe a wooden spoon?). Wally heard the sound of an arm elongating before the sound of that same arm smacking someone's head filled the air along with Johnny's yelp.

Sue commented lightly, "Thank you dear."

Reed just hummed distractedly in response. Ben came lumbering around the corner, mussing Wally's hair up as he passed, ignoring the yelp and Johnny's laughter. Wally grinned at them as he patted his hair down, but then the grin faded a little bit and he said quietly, "I came here to say goodbye. I'm going home tomorrow. Today's almost gone and I still have a couple of goodbyes to say."

"Goodbye dude!" Johnny exclaimed, looping and arm around Wally's neck and pulling him in for a noogie before saying, "But we'll see you next month right?"

Sue emitted a soft, "Johnny." and Wally extracted himself from his friend's arm, feeling even sadder than before.

Johnny's voice was insistent, "Don't give me that look. We're going to see you next month and it'll all be cool. I won't take it any other way. You got that? You're coming back."

Wally smiled sadly and said, "Yeah, I got that Johnny. I'm coming back. Just because you said so."

Johnny body relaxed next to him before the teen spoke a little more seriously, "Goodbye Wally." The statement was echoed as Johnny pulled him in for a hug, Sue joining and Ben wrapping his stubby arms around them from another side, Reed wrapping unnaturally long arms around the entire group. The entire family.

"Goodbye Fantastic Four." Wally whispered before he was gone, slipping through the tangle of limbs and cresting the next building before they even realized he was gone. Daylight was slipping away and he still had two more stops.

Matt spoke first when Wally reached the old apartment he'd been calling home for several months, "Foggy and I packed up your things. The suitcase is on your bed in your room."

Wally's eyes filled with tears even though he hadn't even tried saying goodbye yet. His voice was thick when he said, "Thanks." There was silence for moment before Wally zipped away, finding the bag and putting it into one of his rings. He zipped back to the living room, finding his favorite seat out of what people called a mismatched seating arrangement. His voice was still thick with unshed tears as he said, "I came here to say goodbye. I leave tomorrow morning. I don't… I don't know if I'll come back." Foggy made a pained sound in the back of his throat, but Matt stayed silent, the light flutter of a heartbeat the only sign that Wally's words were affecting him at all. Wally continued, "You guys… you were my lifeline. That first day when I came to this dimension and had no idea what was going on… you guys saved me. First you showed me where that library was, leaving your number with me to make sure that I ended up safe. You gave me hope for this strange new place where nothing was working and I was all alone. And then I found out Matt was Daredevil and suddenly I was living with him and then I was his partner and Foggy was like that cool uncle and… and I'm so eternally grateful that I ran into you two that day. You guys… I couldn't have done this without you. And… and I'm going to miss you… all the time. And… and I don't want to leave you guys. But I am. I'm going home."

Matt spoke, his voice soothing and calm and so quiet on Wally's constantly abused ears, like it was the first time they met, "Wally… you saved us too. I don't think I truly understood what being a true hero was until you came into my life. You showed me that the world was better than I thought it was. You taught me to accept help and to accept people. Without you I'd still be a crotchety old man who the other heroes steered clear of. But now I'm welcome on the helicarrier and the Baxter building and the Avengers Tower and Spiderman says that I can go patrol with him whenever I want. You've changed my life and I will be eternally thankful for that. You're like… like the son I never had and I will always miss you. But don't let us hold you back. Reach for the future with both hands. We'll still be there with you, no matter what." Wally felt a smile creep on to his face and, somehow, he knew that Matt was smiling too.

Foggy announced tearfully, "Well, nothing I say is going to sound special after those little speeches. Just don't forget your cool uncle, okay mini-Matt?" The trio laughed, chuckles dispensing the despondent atmosphere that had crept over the room.

They talked for a few more hours before Wally stood and said, "Goodbye Foggy. Goodbye Matt."

In unison, they responded evenly, "Goodbye Wally." And then he was gone again.

Hours later found him tilting his head to catch the beginning rays of sunshine splashing on the exposed half of his face. Next to him Peter crawled onto the building and settled down leaning against a corner stone, legs dangling out over the edge of the building. They sat in silence for another few minutes. There was nothing dramatic they needed to say to each other. They'd been preparing for this moment since the day Wally decided to tell Peter all of his secrets. They knew how they stood and they knew that they'd miss each other desperately and that there'd be a gaping hole by their side until they met up again. If they met up again. So, as the sun started shining brilliantly against Wally's face, a soft warmth that gave him strength, Wally stood up and gave Spiderman a hug, sighing, "Goodbye Peter."

Peter's voice, familiarly muffled by the mask, responded, "Goodbye Wally."

And then it was off to the helicarrier, being pushed this way and that, prodded and tested and set into the machine, calibrations ringing around him. Minutes passed, then hours, listening to Tony and Banner argue with Doctor Fate and Captain Atom. Zatanna and Loki compared notes, constantly checking with each other throughout their spell work. Bruce and Natasha argued as viciously as two emotionless people could, growling out commands and reasons why the other was wrong. Dick and Roy joked around with Peter and Johnny, all of them trying to make the stressful situation more comfortable. They obviously didn't understand that they didn't need to try. He was as happy as he could be. He was surrounded by his friends from both dimension and was about to go home. He was going to listen and not regret. What was there to not be happy about?

Then Tony's voice asked seriously, cutting through the din of the room, "We're ready on our end. You ready on yours?"

Bruce responded just as seriously, "We're ready."

They asked in unison, "Are you ready, Wally?"

He took a deep breath and allowed the memories of his time in this dimension to wash over him and take him in. He would remember them. And he would do his best to make sure he could come back. Taking another deep breath, Wally nodded sharply, "I'm ready."

Both dimensions started counting down, "Ten." Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson, Peter Parker, Aunt May.

"Nine." Bruce Wayne, Richard Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, Damian Wayne.

"Eight." Johnny Storm, Sue Richards, Reed Richards, Ben Grimm.

"Seven." Artemis Crock, Colin Wilkes, Timothy Drake, Jason Todd.

"Six." Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner.

"Five." Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Barry Allen, Iris Allen.

"Four." Steve Rogers, Thor Odinson, Loki Odinson, Nick Fury.

"Three." Bart Allen, Megan Morse, Conner Kent, Kaldur'ahm.

"Two." Gwen Stacy, Charles Xavier, Maria Hill, Karen Page.

"One." Roy Harper, Oliver Queen, Dinah Lance, Jinx.

There was a banging sound and an elastic feeling as his molecules vibrated at incredible speeds and a quick burning smell before all sensations ended and he was gone.


End file.
